Residents evacuated as dam wall collapses
AN EVACUATION has taken place near a reservoir in Derbyshire which has been battered by heavy rain.
A wall around Toddbrook Reservoir has been damaged and images show a huge hole in the dam wall.
Derbyshire Police yesterday told Whaley Bridge residents to head to a school amid fears that the wall could collapse.
They said the decision to evacuate was taken because this was “an unprecedented, fast-moving, emergency situation”.
The Environment Agency issued a severe flood warning, suggesting a
danger to life, covering the River Goyt at Whaley Bridge. It states that the river could “rise rapidly” due to water rushing in from the reservoir.
Anna Aspinall, 36, from Whaley Bridge, said she and others wanted to help by placing sand bags in the area around the dam but were sent away after structural engineers advised “that the wall is at high risk of failing”.
She said: “We have had significant rainfall over the past few days resulting in the overflow of the reservoir, which is very rarely breached, being completely flooded over.
“The result is that the overflow this morning has undermining damage and there is a big risk of the village being flooded out.
“We are praying (the dam wall) holds whilst the Canal and River Trust try to drain the water from the reservoir.”
Flooding due to sustained rain also disrupted all lines on the railway between Manchester Airport and Wilmslow early yesterday, according to train operator Northern.
A major incident was declared late on Wednesday in Poynton, Cheshire, due to “severe flooding” and local groundwork landscaper Adam Wainwright described the aftermath as “complete chaos”.
He said: “We had flash flooding and heavy rain.
“There have been houses where the flood has had an effect, and it has just ripped through the houses.”