Moray Council prepares for Storm Arwen
AS the Met Office upgrades Storm Arwen to a red weather warning, Moray Council is echoing national guidance for residents to keep alert to updates, stay away from coastal areas and stay indoors where possible.
SEPA flood alerts are in place for Findhorn, Nairn, Moray and Speyside with coastal flooding a particular concern. Due to high waves and strong winds there are risks of waves overtopping, and damage to coastal infrastructure for sections of the exposed coastline, from Friday afternoon through to Saturday morning.
Moray Council has dedicated crews available to assist in Portgordon and Lossiemouth, which are being closely monitored for potential flooding events with Garmouth’s community resilience operation also being alerted. Sandbag stocks are high and will be deployed if needed, and the roads team will liaise Police Scotland should the Lecht snow gates need to be closed.
Moray Council’s duty Emergency Response Co-ordinator, Edward Thomas, said: “Although Moray remains in the amber zone for the weather warning, we encourage all residents to keep up-to-date with the latest alerts on flooding, high winds and potential snow disruption.
“Given we’re already seeing six-metre waves around our harbours I would also ask residents to avoid coastal and harbour areas for the time being for their own safety.
“We expect high tide at 4pm will coincide with the worst of the high winds and are prepared to deploy our crews where necessary to assist residents. I’d repeat the message for residents to stay safe indoors where possible for their own safety, and prepare to protect their property from flooding where there is a potential risk.
“Our regular winter maintenance continues and any further information will be communicated directly with residents where necessary and can be found on our service status portal, including details of road or school closures.”
Advice on preparing for adverse weather can be found here.
Sign up for SEPA flood alerts on this link.
Updates will be available on Police Scotland, SEPA and Met Office social media channels over the weekend.