let's talk to our reporter luxmy gopal, who's in whaley bridge.l, who's in whaley bridge. might seem about it might seem strange to be talking about a potential dam collapse and imminent rainstorms when it is so hot and sunny here at whaley bridge, but the message from the authorities and the message throughout the morning is there is still a risk to life if the dam breaches. behind me is the police cordon where residents have been allowed to pop home for 15 minutes to collect any essential items they were not able to collect on thursday, when the area down there, laura whaley bridge, was evacuated. there has been a red a steady stream of residents and the police —— there has been a steady strea m police —— there has been a steady stream of residents and the police are keeping track of who is going so they have a record and can call them back immediately if there is any update. i have one of the residents with me, what have you seen today? it was good to see the level dropping at the reservoir. —— i have the local mp with me today. no it looks to

let's talk to our reporter, luxmy gopal, who's in whaley bridge.d me, the police cordon is still there on the edge of the evacuation zone. down the road is lower wha ley evacuation zone. down the road is lower whaley bridge, that was evacuated. more than 1000 residents had to leave their homes. they were allowed to return to collect essential items for 50 minutes, including their pets. the vehicle of the missing pet search team drove past, hopefully they found what they are looking for. police have been manning the squadron all morning. it was busy this morning with a continuous flow of residents heading back to collect their items. it has quietened down but local mp ruth george said there could be a need for more police officers to be drafted in to manage the evacuation zone. we know they have brought in more emergency crews, fire crews from neighbouring areas to help with the efforts to remove the water from the efforts to remove the water from the reservoir using high—volume pumps. the work to shore up the damage section, rms chinook was back to

our reporter luxmy gopal has been in whaley bridge all day, and earlier told us the raf had nearly completedir day's work there's just the last few drops to go, and just a few seconds ago, we heard the thundering noise of a chinook over our heads, so they are nearly at the end of that job for today. just a few more drops to go, and i'm joined now by raf wing commander john coles. tell me a bit about the work the raf has been doing to keep the dam firm? very much a joint effort. army personnel are sitting in the headquarters and are liaising with the police silver level who are putting requests in. the most obvious is the chinook helicopter, which has had a near continuous stream of aircraft coming in since early friday morning. equally supported by a joint helicopter support squadron, which is made of army and raf personnel who are up on the hill lifting the bags of aggregate and hooking it onto the bottom of aircraft. and then also on the ground, we've got military liaison teams from the royal logistics corps, who are providing that critical interface between the engineers, the experts on t

let's talk to our reporter, luxmy gopal, who's in whaley bridge.busy behind you but how are residents reacting to the news that there is the forecast of more wet weather tomorrow? it is, behind me here at the police cordon at the edge of the evacuation zone, it was busier this morning, that is when a lot of the residents use the 15 minute window to collect essential items. it was just for the very essentials, things like medication and to collect their pets. a little while ago, the missing pet search tea m while ago, the missing pet search team was allowed through the police cordon as they had to go and rescue a pet cockatiel flying around the house, go in with blankets to try and contain it and retrieve. other than that, just that 15 minutes residents have had to go and collect the items. many residents have responded fairly reasonably, accepted it. earlier, isaw a confrontation between a police officer manning the cordon and a resident unhappy about not being able to return to his home for yet another night and very sceptical about the potential

let's talk to our reporter, luxmy gopal, who's in whaley bridge. it was busy this morning.t going now? well, as you can see behind me, it is a bit quieter than it was earlier. this here is the police cordoned on the edge of the evacuation zone, and that is where people have had to leave their homes and haven't been able to return until today when they were allowed 15 minutes to go back and retrieve any essential items such as medication and pets. are some people have had empty pet carriers ready to go in and collect their pets. others have had to call in a specialist. joining me now is andrew from animal uk chemical search. what have you had to do? the police have given us permission to go inside the croydon and to retrieve pets. usually cats and to retrieve pets. usually cats and dogs. we have had one interesting one today, we had to catch a free flying cockatiel in one of the houses. we caught him and broke him back to his owners. are you concerned about other pets that may still be missing or loose out there? obviously because a lot of people were told their zone was clo

let's talk to our reporter luxmy gopal who's in whaley bridge.oks a lovely morning there, ha rd to it looks a lovely morning there, hard to believe you are in the middle of a potentially catastrophic collapse. absolutely. with this bright sunshine and blue skies it is easy to feel a sense of complacency about the potential danger of the damaged dam. but as you head on that report, the authorities are being very clear that they cannot afford complacency. as you can see behind me, there is the police cordoned. and that leads down to the area that was evacuated. the people they had to spend another night away from their homes, having left and a bit ofa their homes, having left and a bit of a hurry on thursday. and now today for the first time they are being allowed back for a 15 minute window. the police have got a check list with names and numbers, they are checking people in and out, and they have got their phone numbers in case the situation changes rapidly, and that way they can call them to call the people back immediately if need be. today we

our correspondent luxmy gopal is in whaley bridge. she sent this update.umps are working away to channel water away from toddbrook reservoir into a neighbouring field used as a catchment area. they've been working nonstop over the past few days to bring the water levels at toddbrook reservoir lower. in fact, you can probably see how far they've come. the water levels have dropped significantly there to where they were before, which was right at the very edge of that dam. just to give you an idea of the scale of the progress made here, the water levels have now dropped down to around 45%. but there is still some way to go, though, it's got to get down to a level of 25% for it to be low enough for an engineer to go and inspect the damage to the dam. as you mentioned, it is potentially another two days of pumping to go. residents are still unable to return to their homes. derbyshire police have raised some concerns about the fact there are some residents who are refusing to leave their homes in the evacuation zone, even if they are in high risk areas. we've g

let's talk to our reporter luxmy gopal, who's in whaley bridge.e just wejust ended we just ended that report with the side of that helicopter that has been dropping the aggregate on the down wall. is that still ongoing or have they completed that process yet? there isjust the last few drops to go and a few seconds ago we heard the thundering noise of the helicopter over all heads so they are nearly at the end of that job for today. just a few more drops together and i enjoyed now by raf wing commanderjohn coles. tell me the raf has been doing to keep the dam ferment? pretty much a joint effort. army personnel are sitting in the headquarters and are liaising with the sewer level who are putting requests in. the most obvious is the helicopter with a continuous stream of aircraft coming in since early friday morning. supported byjoint helicopter support squadron who were up helicopter support squadron who were up on the hill lifting the bags of aggregate and hooking it onto the aircraft. and then also on the ground, we have got military liaison teams

let's talk to our reporter luxmy gopal, who's in whaley bridge. rns about this bad weather that's forecast later? you can see behind me the teams that have been working through the night at toddbrook resevoir to try to reduce water levels by pumping water away. 55 more homes evacuated late last night on top of the 1.5 thousand people who had to leave their homes last thursday. they have been told they are unlikely to be able to return home for good any time before the end of the week. emergency teams are doing all they can to reduce water levels in the reservoir to try to minimise the risk of it breaching and causing a potential risk to life. they are reducing those water levels, which have already dropped by 1.3 metres since last thursday, but that is not low enough to make it safe enough for residents to return. heavy rain is forecast later, with met office weather warnings in place. while it looks green and tranquil, it is a very serious situation. authorities are making it clear that it is not something to be taken lightly, and they will be wat

let's talk to our reporter luxmy gopal, who's in whaley bridge.irst off, a lot of tension regarding the weather that is coming tomorrow, potentially could cause problems for efforts there. how are residents feeling that they could had to deal with yet more wet weather? of course residents here are preparing for their third night away from their homes and this behind me if the police cordon zone at the edge of the evacuation zone. asa at the edge of the evacuation zone. as a cacique, the last few dribs and drabs of residents coming in and using their 50 minute window to come and pick up essential items. they had been very understanding considering but there have been one resident who was not happy about it. there was a bit of a governor tatian with police here because he felt that he was unhappy about being away from home yet again and felt that actually there was not that much risk of the dam collapsing. that the authorities are making it very clear there is still a potential risk to life if the down bridges and it is still a reticle condition, es

lets talk to our reporter luxmy gopal, who's in whaley bridge — luxmy, there's big concerns about thisnningly beautiful behind you, belying the real danger. it's a beautiful and idyllic scene, that's why it's hard to imagine just how much devastation could potentially be caused and the potential risk to life here. over the past few days the key aims have been to reduce the water levels of the reservoir and shore up the damaged part of the dam and you've seen in the past few days, the picture of the raf chinook bringing in ballast to shore up the dam and high volume pumps have been brought in to try and reduce the level, you can see work going on behind me now, diggers and machinery continuing that work to try and reduce the water levels to a safe amount. emergency workers have been doing that throughout the night. our priority has always been to pump as much water out of the dam is possible because every bit of water we take out reduces the risk of the dam failing so we've taken around 35% of the contents of the dam out i'iow 35% of the contents of the dam out now and we are aiming to

let's talk to our reporter luxmy gopal, who's in whaley bridge. just looking behind you in the distancey have been able to take some of the water out of the reservoir. you can see the difference, the water level has gone down a bit. it is a deceptively idyllic scene, with the sun and the rolling hills and the sound of the birds chirping, but behind me there is work being carried out, teams have been working throughout the night and they are continuing today to reduce the water levels to try and make the reservoir save and resume the risk of it breaching. derbyshire's deputy chief fire officer gavin tomlinson has been working through the night. tell me about the water levels. how far have they been brought down and how much further do they have to go? we have been pumping throughout the night, we have 22 high—volume pumps, seven of which a fire service pumps, and others we brought in from contractors, and we are trying to pump as much water out of the dam as possible. every bit of water we take out reduces the risk of it failing. we now know we have taken around 35% of the contents of th

saying they are putting their lives, and those of the emergency services, at risk. 0ur correspondent luxmy gopal the pumps are working to channel water away from the reservoir into a neighbouring field, and they have been working nonstop over the past few days to bring the water levels at the reservoir lower. you can probably see how far they‘ve come. the water levels have dropped significantly there compared to where they were before, which was right at the very edge of the dam. the water levels have now dropped down to about 45%, but there is still some way to go. it has got to get down to a level of 25% for it to be low enough for an engineer to go and inspect the damage to the dam. potentially another two days of pumping to go. residents are still unable to return to their homes. derbyshire police have raised some concerns about the fact that there are some residents who are refusing to leave their homes in the evacuation zone, even if they are in high risk areas. we‘ve got a small number of people, 22, across 16 households, who remained in their houses. some of them have remained in there f