'Risk to life': Entire town evacuated after extreme rain, flooding

The UK’s summer of extreme weather has taken another turn, with intense flooding affecting large parts of England.

British police were forced to evacuate thousands of residents from the town of Whaley Bridge after torrents of water cascaded from a nearby reservoir when a dam was damaged from the prolonged downpour.

Officials warn subsequent flooding poses a risk to life.

Footage posted on social media on Thursday showed water gushing from the Toddbrook Reservoir, which sits above the Derbyshire town in central England.

Police said the wall of the reservoir had been damaged with residents told to leave the town, home to about 5000 residents, and take pets and any medication they needed with them.

"Residents who have been at work, or away from the Whaley Bridge area, are strongly advised to stay away from the area following advice from the Environment Agency who have indicated that the incident currently poses a significant threat to life," Derbyshire Police said.

Britain's Environment Agency issued a severe flood warning for the area, saying river levels in the River Goyt which runs through the town could rise rapidly.

"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," a police spokesman 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."

Heavy rain hammers England

The evacuation comes after heavy rain in the past couple of days led to flash floods in areas across northern England, causing bridges to collapse and road closures.

Britain's Met Office said on Wednesday downpours had led to 50mm of rain falling in just one hour.

The monthly average in the area for this time of year is 89mm.

Social media was awash with video and imagery of flooded streets and hazardous conditions.

A man and woman who were stranded 100ft up a cliff clinging on "by their fingernails" were rescued, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said.

The pair became stranded at Filey Brigg at about 4pm on Tuesday as they tried to climb the cliff to escape the tide, which cut them off as they walked along a beach.

“The man and woman were clinging on by their fingernails so we knew that we had to act fast,” Matt Atkinson, from HM Coastguard, said.

Swaledale Mountain Rescue Team posted a picture of a collapsed bridge in Grinton on Facebook, urging motorists to "only travel if essential as many routes are impassable" due to flooding.

Leonie Garrard, who runs a clothing and interiors shop in Leyburn, said "torrential rain" had caused water to come through the ceiling and left the town "cut off”.

"I have never seen [anything like] this in my whole life. It has been horrendous. There's pubs with cellars overflowing, roads have been blocked.

"There is more or less no way out of Leyburn at the moment."

Josie Beszant, who owns an art gallery in the town of Masham, said: "It was a very sudden and extremely heavy thunderstorm.

"Silver Street was flash flooded and fire engines came to pump it out. The gardens are pretty devastated. It just looks absolutely drenched."

Parts of Britain could face more torrential rain, with the Met Office warning storms could dump up to 40mm of rain in two hours in places.

With Yahoo UK, AAP

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