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| Dam 'stable' after burst worries | Dam 'stable' after burst worries |
| (42 minutes later) | |
| Engineers battling to stop a dam bursting in South Yorkshire have said the situation is "critical but stable". | Engineers battling to stop a dam bursting in South Yorkshire have said the situation is "critical but stable". |
| More than 700 people fled their homes after cracks appeared in a wall holding back Ulley reservoir, near Rotherham. | More than 700 people fled their homes after cracks appeared in a wall holding back Ulley reservoir, near Rotherham. |
| Teams had managed to stabilise the situation by pumping out as much water as was coming in via brooks and streams, Rotherham Council said. | Teams had managed to stabilise the situation by pumping out as much water as was coming in via brooks and streams, Rotherham Council said. |
| But it is not yet certain when the evacuated residents would be able to return home. | But it is not yet certain when the evacuated residents would be able to return home. |
| Thirteen pumps, manned by firefighters from across Britain, are being used to move water out of the reservoir. | Thirteen pumps, manned by firefighters from across Britain, are being used to move water out of the reservoir. |
| We're hopeful it will hold and we're doing everything in our power to make sure it does Adam Wilkinson, Rotherham Council Trauma for evacuees Flood bowls over cricketers | We're hopeful it will hold and we're doing everything in our power to make sure it does Adam Wilkinson, Rotherham Council Trauma for evacuees Flood bowls over cricketers |
| Adam Wilkinson, from the council, said the next move would be to try to increase the number of pumps to relieve the pressure on the dam by lowering the water level. | Adam Wilkinson, from the council, said the next move would be to try to increase the number of pumps to relieve the pressure on the dam by lowering the water level. |
| "The situation is critical and we will know more when we can pump more water out to relieve pressure on the dam. | "The situation is critical and we will know more when we can pump more water out to relieve pressure on the dam. |
| "We're hopeful it will hold and we're doing everything in our power to make sure it does. | "We're hopeful it will hold and we're doing everything in our power to make sure it does. |
| "There is more rain forecast and that, of course, presents us with further problems." | "There is more rain forecast and that, of course, presents us with further problems." |
| Motorway closed | |
| The M1 motorway has been closed between junctions 32 and 36 because it would be flooded if the dam burst. | The M1 motorway has been closed between junctions 32 and 36 because it would be flooded if the dam burst. |
| South Yorkshire's Chief Constable Meredydd Hughes said: "It's not just the fact that the dam might break and the wall of water will rush to the motorway, it's also the fact that that water may take out a couple of pylons that are carrying 270,000 volts of power." | South Yorkshire's Chief Constable Meredydd Hughes said: "It's not just the fact that the dam might break and the wall of water will rush to the motorway, it's also the fact that that water may take out a couple of pylons that are carrying 270,000 volts of power." |
| Rotherham police commander Ch Supt Matt Jukes told BBC Radio Sheffield the situation was "quite grave". | |
| He said: "But it is a quite stable position. It's not getting worse but it's not getting better. | |
| "All the important emergency procedures have kicked in." | |
| Asked about the flooding scenario if the dam failed, the officer said: "The engineers are saying there is a possibility of water moving quite quickly." | |
| He said the villages potentially in the path of any dam burst, including Treeton, Catcliffe and Whiston, were already experiencing river flooding. | |
| A 68-year-old man and a teenage boy died in separate incidents caused by flooding in Sheffield on Monday. | A 68-year-old man and a teenage boy died in separate incidents caused by flooding in Sheffield on Monday. |