An RAF Chinook is dropping up to 400 tonnes of aggregate in a desperate bid to save a damaged reservoir at risk of bursting and flooding Whaley Bridge.. There were dramatic scenes in the Derbyshire town as the military helicopter lowered large bags filled with sand, gravel and stone to shore up the partially-collapsed dam wall.. The race to avert a potential disaster has entered a critical stage at the Toddbrook Reservoir, which contains 1.3 million tonnes of water and sits above hundreds of homes and businesses in the High Peak district.. More than 1,000 residents have been evacuated over fears their lives were in danger, and police have said the future of the dam "remains in the balance" after it was damaged following extremely heavy downpours.. But some residents have refused to leave their homes within the evacuation zone, and one evacuee compared the situation to a Hollywood disaster film.. Environment Secretary Theresa Villiers will chair a meeting of the Cobra emergency response committee to discuss the situation in Whaley Bridge, said Prime Minister Boris Johnson.. People who were forced to leave their homes spent the night in a high school, hotel or elsewhere amid the "unprecedented, fast-moving, emergency situation".. There were heartwarming moments as strangers in neighbouring towns offered to take in evacuees and their pets for the night.. Derbyshire Police said a "small number" of people living within the evacuation zone have refused to leave their homes, and they have been advised to get out.. Those who have heeded the advice should not return home until they are told it is safe to do so, the force added.. Whaley Bridge resident Andrew Mclackland said he would stay put in his home as he called the evacuation "health and safety gone mad".. Mr Mclackland, 46, told the Manchester Evening News that the emergency is a "fuss about nothing" despite the "danger to life" warning for the River Goyt.. One of the evacuees said it feels like residents are caught up in a Hollywood disaster film.. Tilly, 26, told Mirror Online: "All I can say is the emergency services have been absolutely fantastic, we are safe on higher ground staying with family and yeah it's been a bit of a scary 24 hours.. "Feels like scenes from a film watching the helicopter fly past." . Another resident told the BBC they were keeping their tortoise in a washing up bowl in their car while they waited for updates.. The resident said: “We live in the middle of Whaley. We couldn’t get back in the car so we had to abandon [it] and walk back into Whaley, pack up the other car with the mother-in-law and the pets. We just fled.. "I managed to take my nightdress and we’ve got the tortoise in the washing up bowl in the car.. "We’ve just been told we can go and stay at the Palace Hotel at Buxton.. "It’s quite terrifying. If the dam goes, it will take out the whole town.”. A resident named Joy added:"Whaley is such a tight-knit community anyway and for us all to be evacuated - you're h
An RAF Chinook is dropping up to 400 tonnes of aggregate in a desperate bid to save a damaged reservoir at risk of bursting and flooding Whaley Bridge.. There were dramatic scenes in the Derbyshire town as the military helicopter lowered large bags filled with sand, gravel and stone to shore up the partially-collapsed dam wall.. The race to avert a potential disaster has entered a critical stage at the Toddbrook Reservoir, which contains 1.3 million tonnes of water and sits above hundreds of homes and businesses in the High Peak district.. More than 1,000 residents have been evacuated over fears their lives were in danger, and police have said the future of the dam "remains in the balance" after it was damaged following extremely heavy downpours.. But some residents have refused to leave their homes within the evacuation zone, and one evacuee compared the situation to a Hollywood disaster film.. Environment Secretary Theresa Villiers will chair a meeting of the Cobra emergency response committee to discuss the situation in Whaley Bridge, said Prime Minister Boris Johnson.. People who were forced to leave their homes spent the night in a high school, hotel or elsewhere amid the "unprecedented, fast-moving, emergency situation".. There were heartwarming moments as strangers in neighbouring towns offered to take in evacuees and their pets for the night.. Derbyshire Police said a "small number" of people living within the evacuation zone have refused to leave their homes, and they have been advised to get out.. Those who have heeded the advice should not return home until they are told it is safe to do so, the force added.. Whaley Bridge resident Andrew Mclackland said he would stay put in his home as he called the evacuation "health and safety gone mad".. Mr Mclackland, 46, told the Manchester Evening News that the emergency is a "fuss about nothing" despite the "danger to life" warning for the River Goyt.. One of the evacuees said it feels like residents are caught up in a Hollywood disaster film.. Tilly, 26, told Mirror Online: "All I can say is the emergency services have been absolutely fantastic, we are safe on higher ground staying with family and yeah it's been a bit of a scary 24 hours.. "Feels like scenes from a film watching the helicopter fly past." . Another resident told the BBC they were keeping their tortoise in a washing up bowl in their car while they waited for updates.. The resident said: “We live in the middle of Whaley. We couldn’t get back in the car so we had to abandon [it] and walk back into Whaley, pack up the other car with the mother-in-law and the pets. We just fled.. "I managed to take my nightdress and we’ve got the tortoise in the washing up bowl in the car.. "We’ve just been told we can go and stay at the Palace Hotel at Buxton.. "It’s quite terrifying. If the dam goes, it will take out the whole town.”. A resident named Joy added:"Whaley is such a tight-knit community anyway and for us all to be evacuated - you're h
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