rain – Pencaitland and District Community Council

New Flood Alert for Edinburgh and Lothians – October 17th/18th

It’s just a few days since the last alert was issued and we already have a new one covering Edinburgh and the Lothians. Avoid travel wherever possible.

A new flood alert for the lothians was issued on the 17th October 2012 — A new floodline alert for the Lothians was issued on the 17th October 2012

The Scottish Environmental Protection Agency issues three levels of threat on flooding. A ‘Flood Alert’ is the most basic, followed by a ‘Flood Warning’ and finally a ‘Severe Flood Warning’.

Here’s the latest from SEPA on the new alert for the Lothians:

“Heavy and persistent rain during the first half of Wednesday has caused some rivers to rise in the region. Heavy showers during the afternoon and evening may cause some smaller watercourses to respond quickly and levels in larger rivers to rise further. Isolated instances of flooding are possible and flood warnings may be issued. Particularly at risk are rivers in the Edinburgh area. High river flows, in combination with high tide levels around 4.30 on Thursday morning, could cause disruption in Musselburgh and other areas where the tide can influence river levels. Intense showers could cause some surface water flooding impacts particularly if the heaviest rain falls in urban areas and on impermeable surfaces, such as the road and rail network. Ponding and standing water may occur in low lying areas. The risk of flooding is expected to extend into Thursday. Members of the public are advised to check the Traffic Scotland website before traveling. SEPA will monitor the situation closely and provide further information when available.

Remain vigilant and remember, it is your responsibility to take actions which help protect yourself and your property. Advice and information is available through Floodline on 0845 9881188. This FLOOD ALERT is now in force until further notice and was sent by phone and sms free of charge to registered customers of our Floodline direct warning service. If you haven’t already signed up to receive free flood messages, please call Floodline or register online at sepa.org.uk/floodingsignup.”

Keep your community informed

If you have to travel and spot a dangerous section of road please tweet details to @pencaitlandcc or to the Pencaitland Facebook page. This way the information will automatically be passed on to others.

Example Twitter message:

@pencaitlandcc Bend of A6093 coming into Wester #Pencaitland water over both lanes on final bend. #flood #eastlothian

You can use the same text whether sending to Twitter or posting to Facebook or Google+… whichever you prefer.

the # symbol is often placed in front of keywords on Twitter in order to help people discover relevant updates. If you have room, by adding #eastlothian and #flood to your message it is more likely to be found by those looking for information on areas under water around in the county. Try to be specific, using, for example, #ormiston or #pencaitland hash tags to help geographically pinpoint where the problem is.

Swollen Tyne bursts banks in Pencaitland (Video)

The Tyne bursts its banks at Pencaitland

After a night of high winds and incessant rain it was little surprise that the river Tyne at Pencaitland once again broke its banks with the swell.

In just a few hours the river went from a gentle and shallow meandering stream into a swollen muddy mass of water. This has become a fairly regular occurrence in recent years leaving parts of the river pathway annually inundated and weakening the river bank.

However, it is Haddington, further downstream which is currently under threat from the swelling waters of the Tyne. Further details on the situation can be found by checking the Scottish Environment Protection Agency’s updates page for the Lothians.

Having trouble viewing the video? See it on the Pencaitland channel on Youtube.

Floodwaters fill bend into Wester Pencaitland (Video)