County council urges people to take care during Storm Eunice

Denbighshire County Council is asking people to remain vigilant over the coming few days as Storm Eunice is expected to bring significantly strong winds to the county. 

The Met Office has issued an Amber warning from 5am on Friday February 18 through to 9pm on the same day. 

The extremely strong winds could cause extensive disruption, including flying debris, fallen branches and uprooted trees, damage to buildings and homes, power lines coming down, effects on roads, bridges and railway lines, as well as delays to public transport. 

The council’s teams have been carrying out gully checks across the county and external tree cutting teams are on stand-by to deal with any emerging issues. 

Discussions are taking place with the North and Mid Wales Trunk Road Agency to put in place traffic management plans in the event Storm Eunice necessitates the closure of the A483 and A5  viaducts to the south of Wrexham.   

Traffic will be diverted via Llangollen should the viaducts be closed. In anticipation of this, traffic management contractors will manually operate traffic lights on Castle Street, Llangollen during the day on Friday, February 18. 

All schools in Denbighshire have been asked to move to remote learning on Friday, February 18 due to the amber warning for Storm Eunice and the significant strong winds predicted. 

This decision follows internal, regional and national discussions and has not been taken lightly. The decision has been taken to ensure the safety of all pupils, staff, parents and visitors to school sites. 

Councillor Brian Jones, Cabinet Lead Member for Highways, Waste and the Environment, said: “We are working closely with partner agencies to do all we can to minimise the impact of Storm Eunice on services across the county. This storm has the potential to cause damage and we want to do all we can to keep people safe.

“We ask people to follow any advice issued by the Council, Natural Resources Wales or the emergency services and also ask people to keep an eye on the weather forecasts, the media and social media for the latest advice and information."

Residents are also advised to keep a record of the 105 Scottish Power number to report any power failures during the storm. 

The council will be updating its website: www.denbighshire.gov.uk, as well as Facebook and Twitter accounts with any council related information.