Kirkwall Flood Barriers Deployed with High Tides and Winds Expected

Motorists in Kirkwall have been asked to remove their cars from the Ayre Road car park and Kirkwall harbour area as soon as possible this afternoon (3 January) as the Council puts in place flood barriers to protect against poor weather conditions late tonight and into tomorrow.

A Flood Warning from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) was issued earlier today.

A combination of high spring tides and very strong north westerly winds means wave overtopping is likely at Kirkwall harbour and at Weyland Bay with the high tide expected at around 23.15hrs tonight - and an even higher tide around 11.15hrs tomorrow.

The Met Office has also issued a Yellow weather warning for north-westerly winds of up to 80mph, especially around lunchtime tomorrow.

The barriers will stay in place until Wednesday.

A review of the Churchill Barriers will take place at 19.00hrs.

Hayley Green is Orkney Islands Council's Interim Executive Director for Environmental, Property & Services. She said: "We thank local motorists for their quick response to this afternoon's call for the removal of cars from the Kirkwall Harbour Area

“Over the next couple of days we are going to experience some tricky weather conditions and we’d urge people to take great care and not to walk or drive through flood water - and if there is an emergency on the coast, call 999 and ask for the coastguard.

“With both strong winds and flooding risks, I would ask friends, family and neighbours to keep an eye on people who may be experiencing problems. If anyone has any concerns, they should contact Police Scotland on 101.

"If anyone experiences a loss of power they should contact Scottish and Southern Energy on 105."

Weather updates are available on the OIC Updates Facebook Page, the OIC_Roads Twitter feed and the Orkney Police Twitter feed.

Flooding advice and information is available:

From Orkney Islands Council - https://www.orkney.gov.uk/Service-Directory/A/Flooding-Information.htm

From SEPA - https://ready.scot/respond/severe-weather/rain-and-flooding

From the Scottish Flood Forum - https://scottishfloodforum.org/resources/what-to-do/#about-to-flood