The Peak District Mountain Rescue Organisation's 7 teams were all activated on Thursday afternoon in response to a declared Major Incident at the Toddbrook reservoir. Our water sections have provided water rescue cover in the area, assisting the police, and supporting the work to shore-up the dam.
--update Sat 3 Aug --
As the situation has temporarily stabilised at #WhaleyBridge all 7 Peak District Mountain Rescue Organisation(PDMRO) teams have been stood down from providing round the clock water rescue cover for local residents and the other emergency services and are no longer deployed at the staging points at #NewMills and #FurnessVale.
This is due to the good progress that has been made on shoring up the dam and draining the #ToddbrookReservoir, aided by the dry weather, and will allow the teams to have some much-needed rest in case the situation changes. Although the teams are currently stood down, the #MajorIncident is still ongoing and we remain on standby to be redeployed if required.
There still remains a significant risk to life in the immediate area should the dam wall breach and the evacuation zone has today been increased. Anyone affected by this incident should continue to seek and heed the latest advice from Derbyshire Constabulary.
Representatives from #PDMRO are attending the strategic and tactical meetings to ensure we continue to provide the best resources at the right time and we are all monitoring the changing weather conditions.
All of Mountain Rescue England and Wales is made up entirely of volunteers/unpaid professionals who give up their time to help the Statutory Emergency Services and their local communities. We don't receive any regular government funding and rely entirely on the support and donations of the public. We can't imagine the disruption caused to those families affected by this incident and it is a credit to the character of the local residents that we have been well looked after while away from our own families. Offers of hot drinks, food, homemade cakes and use of 'facilities' have been plentiful and it's been a true pleasure to meet so many people, despite the circumstances!
Thank you all in the social media world too, comments of support, offers of housing and food, and of course donations are a great encouragement to the teams.
Thank you!