Weather Archives - Am Paipear

Cool breeze for runners tackling Daliburgh Jog Scotland 10K

May 10, 2016

Runners were not treated to the glorious sunshine currently beaming down on the islands at this year’s Daliburgh Jog Scotland 10K.

Instead participants had to contend with a relatively strong and cold wind for the race – held on Saturday 7th May – making parts of the circular route more difficult than usual to face.

Athletes from across the islands – Berneray, North Uist, Grimsay, Benbecula, South Uist, Eriskay and Barra – tackled the course.

Nea MacInnes finished first overall, coming in at 38.38.

He was followed by Oliver Foote on 40.19 and John Jolly in third place on 43.28.

Amy MacDonald was the first woman home – and fourth overall – finishing on 47.16.

In total twenty-two runners tackled the course along with five walkers.

After the race, organisers thanked all runners, walkers, volunteers and the police for making the event a success.

More details in the next edition of Am Pàipear.

Photo: Nea MacInnes and Amy MacDonald (Am Pàipear)

Help to weather the storms for island communities

April 27, 2016

One of SHEPD’s previous community resilience workshops held in Inverness.

Scottish Hydro Electric Power Distribution (SHEPD) is offering support to communities across the Western Isles to draw up local plans to respond to extreme weather and other emergencies.

A series of three short introductory roadshows will be held next week in Stornoway, Tarbert and Benbecula (details below). These will be followed up by workshops a month later (June) at which participating communities and groups will be helped to develop their own draft plans.

As well as putting local knowledge, skills and facilities at the heart of the emergency response delivered by SHEPD and other agencies, the sessions will help attendees to gain support via SHEPD’s Resilient Communities Fund, which will open to applications later in the year.

SHEPD Community Liaison Manager Mo Bates says: “Extreme weather seems to be affecting us more often and the islands are used to feeling the full force of it. Islanders have always been good at looking out for each other, but drawing up a simple emergency plan can still make a big difference when it comes to coordinating local efforts with the emergency response agencies.

“Our work with communities in recent years has delivered great results with a wide range of community groups and organisations getting involved – from local residents’ groups to radio stations. The events are completely free and fun to take part in. Most importantly, communities tell us they have made a big difference whether during winter storms, disruption to transport or other emergencies.

“I would urge everyone with an interest in helping their community stay safe to come along and find out more.”

Comhairle nan Eilean Siar’s Emergency Planning Manager Andy MacDonald added: “Engaging local communities and their knowledge in the emergency response can make a huge difference in critical situations.

“This process is absolutely not about replacing the duties of SHEPD, the Comhairle or emergency services. Community plans are designed to make sure the emergency response reflects local needs. They can improve communication and make sure support is delivered effectively when it matters most.

Full programme of events is below:

Resilience Roadshow	Monday 2 May 2016, 7pm – 8.30pm	Cabarfeidh Hotel, Stornoway
Resilience Roadshow	Tuesday 3 May 2016, 7pm – 8.30pm	Tarbert Community Centre, Tarbert.
Resilience Roadshow	Wednesday 4 May 2016, 7pm – 8.30pm	Dark Island Hotel, Liniclate, Benbecula.
Community Resilience Workshop	Monday 30 May 2016, 5pm – 9pm Sandwiches and Refreshments served at 5pm	Cabarfeidh Hotel, Stornoway
Community Resilience Workshop	Tuesday 31 May 2016, 5pm – 9pm Sandwiches and refreshments served at 5pm	Harris Hotel, Tarbert
Community Resilience Workshop	Wednesday 1 June 2016, 5pm – 9pm Sandwiches and Refreshments served at 5pm	Dark Island Hotel, Liniclate, Benbecula.

SNP council candidate calls on Comhairle to lead ferries rethink

March 10, 2015

Roslyn MacPherson.

With extreme conditions continuing to disrupt ferry services, SNP council candidate for North Uist and Benbecula, Roslyn Macpherson, has called on the Comhairle to take a lead in a collaborative approach to designing ferry services.

Roslyn Macpherson commented: “There will always be times when weather conditions make sailings impossible, but the key to providing a lifeline ferry service during a severe winter is maximising capacity in between these spells. The only practical way to achieve this is by recognising the importance of the Lochmaddy to Uig route as the shortest and most efficient connection with the mainland for the Uists.

“Like many in the community, I welcome the fact that CMAL, Calmac and the Transport Minister are all due to visit Uist in the near future, at the invitation of our MSP, to discuss some of the issues we face here in service redesign. Direct dialogue between the community and decision makers is an important aspect of shaping our future ferry services – hearing the views of service users is paramount.

“However, individuals and communities representing their particular needs is only part of a longer term solution. I believe the Comhairle has a role to play in promoting a radical rethink across all areas such as vessel design and deployment, terminal facilities and timetabling throughout the Western Isles – speaking on behalf of the whole region, but acknowledging and championing the particular needs and benefits of the key routes such as between Lochmaddy and Uig.

“In the face of rising sea levels and worsening winters, I believe the council is uniquely well placed to examine our expectations of ferry services in the Western Isles, and push for them to be delivered.”

Vodafone responds to complaints about loss of service

January 16, 2015

Vodafone has responded to complaints from island customers, many of whom have been without reception since the onset of severe weather conditions a week ago.

Many readers have contacted Am Pàipear this week – including several from as far away as Lewis, Skye and Lochgilphead – describing the loss of signal.

Today, Vodafone has said that due to the continuing “challenging” weather conditions, it is not yet clear when full service will be restored.

A spokesman for the company commented: “We are aware that due to the extreme weather conditions across the Highlands and Islands, some of our customers are suffering from limited mobile coverage.

“Our engineers have this as their highest priority and are working hard to restore full service.

“However, the weather conditions remain extremely challenging with snow and high winds, which make it unsafe for them to climb masts, hampering our engineers’ efforts to restore services at affected sites.

“We’d like to apologise to any customers affected for any inconvenience and will update customers on improvements as soon as we can.”

Complaints were also received about loss of service experienced by customers of other networks, as well as individuals who have had no landline connection for several days.

Am Pàipear is awaiting responses from those other companies.

More to follow…

Severe Weather Impact: Statement from NHS Western Isles, Police Scotland and Comhairle nan Eilean Siar

January 14, 2015

Two storms are set to hit the Outer Hebrides over the next few days.

Severe weather has hit the Outer Hebrides over the past week.

Statement from NHS Western Isles, Police Scotland and Comhairle nan Eilean Siar:

The last week has presented very challenging circumstances for the population of the Western Isles in terms of power outages and adverse weather, with the consequential impact on heat, light, food, travel and communication.

The Western Isles Emergency Planning Coordinating Group (WIEPCG) has been active and responding throughout to keep our communities supported, while Scottish Southern & Energy engineers worked tirelessly to carry out repairs and restore power.

The local community response has been remarkable and we would like to pay tribute and thanks to all who have made individual and collective efforts, in particular:

Local community groups;
HM Coastguard;
HebSAR (Hebrides Search and Rescue);
Red Cross;
Salvation Army;
Scottish Fire & Rescue.

We are grateful to our own staff: council, health and police, for their ongoing support and commitment to helping our community.

Many local contractors and businesses also worked alongside the Public Sector Agencies to respond to the challenging demands, and these are all to be commended.

Sincere thanks to one and all for your efforts.

Gordon Jamieson Gordon MacLeod Malcolm Burr

NHS Western Isles Police Scotland Comhairle nan Eilean Siar

MV Finlaggan aids cut off Harris residents

January 13, 2015

Caledonian MacBrayne’s MV Finlaggan came to the assistance of the community on the Isle of Harris at the weekend.

On Sunday, the island had been without power for approaching 48 hours.

Opening up her gangway to members of the community from 4-8pm, the Master, Barry Scott, and his crew of MV Finlaggan welcomed approximately 50 local residents on board and provided hot drinks and filled rolls, as well as offering them the chance to take a shower.

Some who were aboard took hot water and food back to those who could not venture out, and also took the opportunity to re-charge mobile devices in case the telephone network was restored.

Meanwhile, the ship’s Chief Engineer and 2nd Engineer were able to apply their technical expertise at a local hotel, wiring an emergency generator to supply power.

“The Master and crew of MV Finlaggan were pleased to be able to support the relief efforts,” said duty operations manager Finlay MacRae.

“A hot drink, some food and a shower hopefully provided some respite, and thanks, too, to our engineering colleagues from Finlaggan, whose assistance in connecting a generator helped the pierside hotel to assist with relief efforts for the wider community.”

Qinetiq: St Kilda recovery plan already in motion

January 12, 2015

Qinetiq staff were evacuated on Friday.

Qinetiq has commented on the evacuation of 15 members of its staff from St Kilda on Friday last week.

Personnel were airlifted by coastguard following extreme weather and damage to infrastructure on the island.

A QinetiQ spokesman commented:

“On Friday, 9th January, QinetiQ evacuated all its employees from the site at St Kilda, which the company manages on behalf of the Ministry of Defence, due to the extreme weather conditions.

“The safety of our people is our top priority, so as a precaution our 15 employees were airlifted from the island at around 3pm by the coastguard.

“There were no casualties, although the winds did cause damage to buildings and equipment. We will carry out a full assessment into the extent of the damage when conditions improve.

“Employees are now back at work in the Uists and a recovery plan is already in motion.”

Call for immediate return of MV Hebrides to North Uist

January 12, 2015

MV Hebrides pictured in Lochmaddy in better weather.

MV Hebrides must return to the Lochmaddy-Tarbert-Uig route immediately, a North Uist councilor has demanded, as the repeated failure of the vessel currently servicing the triangle to sail to Lochmaddy threatens to bring about an “emergency situation”.

In an e-mail to Alasdair Allan MSP, Cllr Uisdean Robertson highlighted that three times last week MV Finlaggan – currently operating between Skye, North Uist and Harris – managed to sail to Tarbert but not Lochmaddy.

MV Hebrides is currently covering the Ardrossan-Brodick route.

Bad weather has hampered the performance of its cover in the Outer Hebrides, MV Finlaggan, which is not running today (Monday 12th January) due to strong winds.

MV Finlaggan is widely considered inappropriate for the North Uist route after a series of cancellation hit spells on the run in recent winter. CalMac has however maintained the vessel is fit for the triangle route and merely affected by severe weather risking safety.

Writing to Alasdair Allan, Cllr Robertson said: “It is now patently obvious that the Finlaggan has a problem with the Lochmaddy leg. It seems that it finds the Tarbert leg easier to manage.

“At this time of year, having our ferry MV Hebrides, the best sea going vessel in the fleet, sailing in sheltered water while this community suffers is unbelievable and unacceptable.

“The weather has been dreadful, but if you check, you will see the Finlaggan manages far more sailings into Tarbert than into Lochmaddy during bad weather.

“As this is fast becoming an emergency situation, with a bad forecast for the next few days, [Transport Minister Derek Mackay] has to ask CalMac to bring the Hebrides back by Tuesday to provide this lifeline service to and from the Uists.”

Cllr Robertson also called for Transport Minister Derek MacKay – who is also Minister for Islands – to visit North Uist and discuss the situation in person.

Cool breeze for runners tackling Daliburgh Jog Scotland 10K

Help to weather the storms for island communities

SNP council candidate calls on Comhairle to lead ferries rethink

Vodafone responds to complaints about loss of service

Severe Weather Impact: Statement from NHS Western Isles, Police Scotland and Comhairle nan Eilean Siar

MV Finlaggan aids cut off Harris residents

Qinetiq: St Kilda recovery plan already in motion

Call for immediate return of MV Hebrides to North Uist

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