Local householders are advised to take basic precautions such as moving rubbish/recycling bins, garden furniture, and hanging baskets and securing play equipment such as trampolines to ensure they do not cause damage to cars or property if blown over. 

East Lothian Council’s emergency planning is closely monitoring the forecast. Meetings of the East Lothian Multi-Agency Severe Weather Group, chaired by East Lothian Council, will take place at regular intervals as we navigate through this bad spell of weather.

ELC teams are being readied to deal with traffic disruptions, fallen trees and property damage.

The council’s contact centre is open 24/7 – Tel: 01620 827827. Out of office hours – 01875 612818.

SPEN should be contacted if there are any power cuts: Phone 105 

People are advised to take care if out and about, particularly elderly people and those with mobility issues who may wish to stock up with provisions and stay at home.

However, the public should be aware that the impacts of these storms will affect everyone in East Lothian and so in some cases response times may not be as quick as hoped for.

Please note the information given below and try to plan ahead for any possible severe weather conditions.  Make sure you have enough food supplies in case the weather prevents you travelling for a few days.  You should also make sure you have enough prescription medicine to see you through a period of bad weather.  A very important point to note is that, if you are parked on the street, please ensure you leave plenty of space for gritters to pass through the village – and other vital vehicles such as ambulances and fire engines.

If you are vulnerable or have specific health needs, chronic illness, a requirement for carers or any electrical medical equipment it would be helpful if you could let the Community Emergency Team know so that, in the event of adverse weather or power cuts, extra help can be provided to you.  Please contact us using the form provided below.

Packing a small emergency kit and keeping it in a safe place at home in a waterproof bag will help in a wide range of emergency situations. Your kit should include:

• A battery operated torch and spare batteries (or a wind up torch)
• A battery operated radio and spare batteries (or a wind up radio)
• Mobile phone charger
• Any essential medication, some toiletries and a first aid kit
• Three days’ supply of bottled water and ready to eat food (that won’t go off)
• Copies of important documents like insurance policies and birth certificates, in case you need to locate these quickly or prove your identity
• Pencil, paper, a penknife and a whistle
• Matches

Think about what else is important for you and your family to get by should an emergency occur over an extended period.  For example, ensure you have enough:

• Food supplies
• Formula/baby food
• Pet supplies

Consider also purchasing alternative heating and cooking methods such as a camping stove and an analogue phone –digital phones will not work if there is no electricity.

In cold weather, make sure you keep as warm as possible, particularly wearing layers, and keeping at least one room in the house heated.

Please try your best to check on vulnerable neighbours and help them to prepare.

Before travelling in severe weather

• Consider whether you need to travel right now, or if you can wait until the weather improves
• Check the weather forecast, and keep up to date with the latest weather warnings and road conditions
• Make sure your car is ready for a journey in poor weather (such as checking tyre pressure and fuel levels)
• Tell someone your destination and when you expect to arrive
• Allow extra time for your journey
• Take a fully charged mobile and charger with you
• Pack an emergency kit in your car.  The emergency kit could include:

Ø  a first aid kit

Ø  battery jump leads

Ø  a torch and spare batteries

Ø  a map for unplanned diversions

Ø  a blanket

Ø  a reflective warning sign.

Ø  a shovel for snow

Ø  warm clothes and boots

Ø  some food, and a warm drink in a flask

You can find out what is happening by tuning in to local radio or, if you have access to the internet, check for current information on one of these websites:

• Police – www.scotland.police.uk or telephone 999
• Scottish Fire and Rescue Service – www.firescotland.gov.uk or telephone 999
• NHS Lothian – www.nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk or telephone 111
• Scottish Power – www.spenergynetworks.co.uk or telephone 105 or 0800 0929290
• Scottish Water – www.scottishwater.co.uk or telephone 0845 6018855
• Scottish Environment Protection Agency (flooding) – www.sepa.org.uk or telephone 08459 881188
• East Lothian Council – www.eastlothian.gov.uk or telephone 01620 827827 or out of hours 01875 612818

East Coast FM can be found on 107.6FM

Forth 1 can be found on 97.3FM

Radio Scotland can be found on 92-95FM or 810MW

I have prepared an Emergency Resilience Plan for Garvald. If you would like to view this plan please indicate on the form providing an email address for it to be sent to.

Penny Short

Community Emergency Team Co-Ordinator

Weather Update from Met Office via Penny Short, Emergency Resilience Co-Ordinator

Hopefully the strong winds and rain didn’t cause too many issues but I thought it would be helpful to share information received from the Met office this morning advising what to expect over the next few days:

Following on from Storm Ciara, we are now seeing the colder air across the country with showers of sleet and snow affecting parts of the country. The main story for the week will be for these colder conditions to remain through most of the week.

Monday and Tuesday

The main focus for today and tomorrow is the wind and snow warning that is currently in force until midnight Tuesday. This warning is for low likelihood of medium impacts and covers much of the country with the exclusion of some far eastern areas. These showers are likely to fall as snow, even to low levels at times, with higher accumulations more likely across western and southern areas and higher ground across Scotland. The generally strong winds will gusts to 50-60mph at times. As ever, the level of impacts and disruption will depend upon where the showers fall, as not all areas will be affected. However, the combination of snow showers and strong winds, with the likelihood of blizzards and drifting snow in places, are likely to lead to the disruption to travel and power supplies in places throughout Monday and Tuesday. There is also potential for frequent lightning from these showers, which could also lead to some impacts on power networks. In addition, ice will form overnight. This brings a risk of injuries from slips and falls on icy surfaces, bus and train services may be delayed with longer journey times. There is the potential for accumulations of 1 to 3 cm above 150 metres, although in heavier showers this may come down to lower levels. 5-10 cm is possible above 300 metres. Snow will gradually build up and in a few locations, accumulations of over 20 cm are possible by Tuesday evening over the highest routes.

We are continuing to monitor the snow showers, where they develop, their intensity along with looking for consistent model solutions. This could lead to a short notice increase in confidence of where medium impacts could be seen, resulting in an increase of the warning up to amber. We are currently keeping a close eye on southern Scotland during Tuesday afternoon but there has so far been too much model inconsistency to raise the likelihood. We will continue to monitor this.

With the warning area covering into Northern England there is the potential to see further impacts to cross border travel, especially in the west, with disruption to road and rail transport.

Wednesday

There is currently a warning for snow and ice from midnight until midday on Wednesday. This is likely to be updated this morning to move into the low likelihood of medium impacts. The area of this warning is largely the same as for Monday and Tuesday, with only eastern coastal areas not in the warning. By this point there will still be some snow showers around, but they will be becoming less frequent. However the overnight temperatures will have dropped, and the showers bring difficulty in treating surfaces.

These showers are likely to lead to further accumulations of snow above around 100 metres with 5-10 cm of snow possible above around 250 m . Any snow accumulations over lower ground are likely to be temporary. Impacts are likely to see some roads and railways affected with longer journey times, some injuries from slips and falls on icy surfaces with some icy patches on some untreated roads. The potential to impacts across the border continues on Wednesday as well so disruption to cross border road and rail travel remains possible.

After Wednesday we will start to see a little respite in the weather. We will continue to keep you informed of any changes to the story throughout the week.

The warnings can be viewed on ourApp, or the Met Office website.

Please take care during the worst of the weather and heed the advice given on the Met office website and on the Ready Scotland website which can be found at

https://www.readyscotland.orghttp//www.readyscotland.org/are-you-ready/severe-weather

Outlook:
Remaining windy and cold on Wednesday with further showers pushing in from the west. Winds will be strongest again in the west but aren’t expected to be as strong as today so warnings look unlikely at this stage.
Turning slightly milder on Thursday with some rain and snow melt; the potential for any localised flooding issues will be assessed later in the week.
Friday will be windy across the far north but likely turning more settled across much of the country.

The latest warnings can be seen on Hazard Manager, on the Met Office App: https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/what/met-office-weather-app

or the Met Office website: https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/warnings-and-advice/uk-warnings#?date=2020-01-14

Advice for travelling in storms, rain and strong winds can be found here.
Please also see this morning’s Flood Guidance Statement for the most up to date information on the coastal flood risk across Scotland over the next five days.

The good news is that rain is due to ease off in the next few hours.

Information from the ELC Resilience Manager states that the risk for flooding is reducing now, as rainfall is expected to significantly drop. Responder agencies including ELC and police are continuing to monitor the situation and take appropriate action if required. The build-up of debris on local rivers is being monitored and action is being taken if required and when possible. The risk of surface water flooding remains a concern in all areas.

The Met Office and SEPA have reduced their weather warnings from amber to yellow. There have been a few localised incidents of flooding. Water levels are now dropping in line with the forecast from SEPA and the Met Office. East Lothian Council, Care for People/Social Care staff have been active in identifying vulnerable people in case further response action was required.

If you have any has concerns about the risks of flooding please get in touch with the Council (01620 827827) or Penny Short (the Garvald Community Emergency Co-ordinator).

Please note that the Met Office has issued an amber warning for East Lothian today, up until Thursday morning. Garvald is due to receive a lot of rainfall during this period. Please expect road flooding and take extra care in these potentially hazardous driving conditions. If you live in the village near the Papana burn, please consider taking extra precautions to avoid flood damage should the water level rise.