Advice issued as storm approaches

The multi-agency Orkney Local Emergency Co-ordinating Group (OLECG) is advising the community to be prepared for severe weather conditions.

The group met today, Wednesday, in response to predictions of very strong winds that are expected to affect Orkney on Friday and Saturday.

The Met Office has issued an Amber “be prepared” warning for the Northern Isles for this period. Storm force south to south-westerly winds are forecast during Friday and into Saturday morning, with the potential for 80-90mph gusts.

Inspector Keith Bendall, who chaired today’s meeting at Kirkwall Police Station, said: “Our aim is to ensure that key agencies are prepared for eventualities linked to the severe weather conditions Orkney is likely to experience.

“Given the strength of the winds forecast, disruption and timetable changes are likely on internal and external air and ferry routes. Our advice is to keep an eye on weather forecasts and keep in touch with transport providers.

“As the forecast stands, exposed coastal roads and causeways could be affected by spray and possible over-topping by waves.” he said. “It is likely that the Churchill Barriers could be closed at times.”

The advice from OLECG is to follow the @OIC_Roads and @OrkneyPolice Twitter feeds for updates on barrier conditions.

Inspector Bendall added: “With strong winds, there is always the possibility that homes may be affected by a loss of power. In those circumstances, we would ask friends, family and neighbours to keep an eye on people who may be experiencing problems as a result.

“We would ask that people ensure that anything that could be blown about is safely stowed away or tied down – strips of plastic or polythene, for instance, can cause power cuts if they get wrapped around power lines.”

In Orkney’s North and South Isles, arrangements have been put in place to ensure that residents can still report an emergency if there is a breakdown of landline and mobile phone services. In such circumstances, fire stations in the isles will open and provide a communications link to Orkney Mainland – so that information from residents can be passed to relevant organisations.

Other updates can be found on https://twitter.com/OrkneyCouncil/lists/bad-weather-updates and https://www.facebook.com/OICUpdates/