PRESS RELEASE WIEPCG (Western Isles Emergency Planning Coordinating Group) Update on Continued Weather Disruption and Power Outages Local agencies continue to work in partnership to coordinate the response to the ongoing impact of the recent severe weather in the Western Isles. POWER UPDATE Scottish Hydro Electric Power Distribution (SHEPD) engineers have been working to restore power to affected areas in the Western Isles. There are continuing problems and a significant number of areas still without power. An update on areas still affected will be issued later this evening. 999 SYSTEMS 999 emergency telephone systems are now functioning across the Western Isles. HOT MEALS & SUPPORT Individual visits to homes in areas known to be affected by power failures for extended periods have taken place by the Coastguard, Police, Fire Service, RNLI and Hebrides Search and Rescue, with the offer of hot meals in local establishments, or the delivery of hot meals directly to homes. Establishments providing hot meals to those in affected areas include Hotel Hebrides in Tarbert and the Caladh Inn in Stornoway. Rest centres at Leverburgh Home of Rest and North Lochs Community Centre (supported by Red Cross volunteers) remain in place to provide the local communities without power with the option of accessing refreshments and a warm environment until such time as power is fully restored to customers. Hot food has been provided to homes in South Lochs by mobile unit. Fuel has been delivered to homes where this has been requested and considered necessary. Scalpay Fire Station remains open with an emergency crew, if members of the local community need help or assistance. SCHOOLS & PUBLIC TRANSPORT It is hoped that all schools across the Western Isles will be open as usual tomorrow, but where there have been significant power outages, heating systems may have been so affected that some schools will be unable to open. Further information will be provided as soon as possible. It is possible that there will be disruption to public transport, as a result of the weather. FERRIES It is likely that there will be disruption/cancellations to ferry transportation tomorrow. Please refer to the Caledonian MacBrayne website/Twitter site for details. Areas which require the delivery of assets/supplies/fuel may be prioritised. PATIENT TRANSPORT The Scottish Ambulance Service will not be running the Patient Transport Service tomorrow. If you have a hospital appointment and have booked Patient Transport, please contact the number on your appointment letter if you will have difficulty in attending your appointment. ROAD CLOSURE As a result of a damaged power line on the road at Eorodale (situated on the B8015 between Lionel and Skigersta), the road has been closed for a period. The line has been isolated. There is no risk to public safety, and the road will be reopened as soon as possible. WEATHER WARNING A Yellow (Be Aware) weather warning for Wind has been issued by the has been issued by the Met office, valid from 3am on Monday morning until 9pm on Monday night. The peak period for high winds will be between 5am and 12noon. Another rapidly deepening area of low pressure will develop over the North Atlantic during Sunday night, bringing severe southwesterly gales to the far north and northwest of Scotland with gusts of 70 mph. As the low tracks eastwards gusts could reach 80 mph on the Isle of Lewis. The public should be aware of the risk of further disruption to both transport and power supplies. Local agencies would again ask family, neighbours and friends living nearby to assist and support elderly and vulnerable people. CONTACTS SHEPD is leading on the provision of support for vulnerable service users. They can be contacted on 0800 300 999. NHS24 can be contacted on 111 for healthcare concerns. In an emergency, contact 999. If there are any local care related issues, you may also contact FAIRE on 01851 701702. Updates will continue to be provided as follows: Via the Public Information section of the Comhairle’s website at: CNES Public Notices Twitter: @cne_siar @NHSWI @WIslesPolice Facebook: WIEPCG or NHS Western Isles ******************************************************************************************************************** This message may contain confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient please inform the sender that you have received the message in error before deleting it. Please do not disclose, copy or distribute information in this e-mail or take any action in reliance on its contents: to do so is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. Thank you for your co-operation. 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Posted on: Sun, 11 Jan 2015 19:44:17 +0000
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