Authorities in northwest England have said damage to a reservoir dam near Whaley Bridge "poses a significant threat to life." Residents have been told to expect to stay away from the area for several days.
Image: Reuters/P. Noble
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British authorities have ordered 6,500 people in northwest England to evacuate a town over concerns that the dam wall of a reservoir could burst following days of heavy rain.
Derbyshire police said residents of Whaley Bridge should leave the town after Britain's Environment Agency said the incident "currently poses a significant threat to life."
The Environment Agency has issued a severe flood warning for the area, saying levels in the River Goyt, which runs through the town, could rise rapidly.
'Unprecedented, fast-moving, emergency situation'
Police have advised residents to gather at a nearby school or stay with family and friends, and to take pets and enough medication for a number of days.
"We understand that there will be some concern around not being able to return home. However, our priority is to ensure people are kept safe and well and are not taking unnecessary risks," Derbyshire police said.
"This is not a decision that has been taken lightly and we appreciate that there is significant impact on this community, however, this is an unprecedented, fast-moving, emergency situation."
Mohammad Heidarzadeh, an engineering expert from Brunel University in London said the dam's damaged spillway could be "fully broken" within hours.
"Due to heavy rainfall in Whaley Bridge area, the spillway is now broken and a big chunk of its concrete structure is damaged," he said. "If the spillway is fully gone, the embankment dam will be washed
away very rapidly, which could cause a massive flood."
Heidarzadeh also lamented the lack of investment in old infrastructure, endangering lives. In a tweet he said: "The concrete Spillway was built around 50 years ago and was almost at the end of its lifetime. This incident highlights the need for rehabilitation of old infrastructure! We need more investment for safety of our people!"
Europe's heat wave: Desperate times call for desperate measures
As the continent swelters, governments and businesses have found creative ways to ensure life doesn't come to a standstill. Solutions for melting roads, buckling rail tracks and parched zoo animals have been dreamed up.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/T. Miletic
Gritting in summer?
In the Netherlands, one municipality is spraying salted water on its roads to stop them from melting or cracking in the extreme heat. The salt extracts moisture from the air, which in turn cools the asphalt. Much of Germany's autobahn network has asphalt coated with a special substance that absorbs moisture more quickly, according to local authorities.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/ANP/K. Van de Veen
The great whitewash
Austria's railway network has deployed an army of workers to paint a 5-kilometer stretch of rail track white. It wants to test whether the paint will help the steel tracks, which can expand and buckle during a heatwave, to stay cooler. The metal can rise to 70 degrees Celcius. Rail travelers near Blundenz, about 60 kilometers south of Lindau on Lake Constance shouldn't notice any difference.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/ÖBB
Customers keep their cool
Businesses face potential revenue losses if consumers sit out the sticky weather at home. Germany's Bayreuth Festival saw a wave of returned tickets for performances of composer Richard Wagner's operas due to a lack of air conditioning in the theater. The Berlin Dungeon, on the other hand, helped tourists to stay cool by filling coffins with icy water and inviting visitors to dunk their heads.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/B. Pedersen
Too hot to handle
Europe's nuclear power stations rely on water from nearby rivers or seas to cool reactors used for electricity generation. A power plant at Grohnde, in central Germany, was due to be shut down on Friday afternoon because the water in the nearby Weser river was thought to be too hot. Lower Saxony's environment ministry said the plant would remain closed until the river temperature has fallen.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Stratenschulte
Riot trucks repurposed
In the German city of Wuppertal, a water cannon truck has been put to what environmental activists would say is a much better use. Some 40,000 liters of water was sprayed on the side of roads to keep the much-loved trees alive, which city officials said also aids road safety. After all, falling dead trees are a danger to traffic. City workers have also distributed 400 water sacks to younger trees.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/C. Otte
Never mind the planet
The heatwave has prompted a continent not known for air conditioning to consider, in unison, installing the temperature cooling devices. According to Google Trends, searches for air conditioning (Klimagerät in German, or climatisation in French) and similar terms have skyrocketed over the past week, along with "pubs with air conditioning near me" in Britain, which spiked 2,100%.
Image: Imago Images/A. Popov
The ice creams are on me
During exceedingly hot temperatures, European zoos have begun freezing their animals' food to help them stay cool. Fruit, vegetables and even fish have been turned into popsicles on which the animals can feast. In the southwestern German state of Baden-Württemberg, the public has been asked to watch out for grazing horses, cattle and sheep left without sufficient water and shade.
