OIC advice as Orkney hit by heavy rainfall

After Orkney was hit by a deluge of rain last night and this morning, OIC head of infrastructure and strategic projects, Darren Richardson, has released the following message:

“Although we have not received any advance weather warnings from the Met office or SEPA, we are experiencing periods of heavy rainfall today. Forecasts indicate we may experience similar conditions for several days to come, on and off.

“We’d ask drivers take this into account, noting that until the heavy rainfall stops and for some hours afterwards there may well be areas where the run-off from surrounding areas results in ‘ponding’ on our roads.

“Please take care, slow down, do not try to drive through at speed, and where safe to do so navigate around any water standing on the road.

“If you are aware of any severe flooding that is impacting on property or making roads impassable, please call the police in the first instance who are in constant contact with the council.

“Please note we do have limited resources and may be in several locations at any time, therefore please ensure you contact the emergency services in the first instance if potential flooding is severe.

“The council has a stock of sand bags available for collection at the Hatston depot on a first come first served basis, this is for residents to use if they feel flood water may enter their property, such as in doorways etc.

“We will also be placing a pallet of sand bags at council facilities in Dounby, St Margaret’s Hope, Garson, Hatston and Cursiter Recycling facilities today as an additional precautionary measure for residents.”