|
'HATCHES'
were battened down in West Cornwall yesterday and will be again today
as a massive storm, covering half of the North Atlantic Ocean, hits the
area.
Property damage and coastal flooding were expected and by late afternoon
yesterday, it was believed that winds would peak at between 70 to 80 miles
an hour. Penzance was one of the vulnerable Westcountry ports which was
"right in the firing line" according to a spokeswoman for the
Environment Agency.
The agency said it was closely monitoring the situation and would react
accordingly.
A Met Office spokesman said: "The South West will be right in the
forefront of it. It will come in on Wednesday and Thursday with gales
and severe gales, which may be worse for exposed places on the coast.
"It will be very wet as well, but the rain will be moving through
at a fair pace. It is the winds we are most concerned about."
And concerns were exacerbated by the fact that the storm coincided with
high spring tides, bringing flooding fears as a result of possible storm
surge.
There was a plea from Falmouth Coastguard for people to keep away from
the coastline during the predicted severe weather.
"The waves are going to be pretty hard on the seafronts and people
need to keep clear of the shore and rocks," said a spokesman.
The first of the exceptionally gusty winds started to hit the Penwith
area around 3am yesterday and by breakfast-time they had increased to
gale-force and were expected to hit storm-force later in the day.
The winds were yesterday expected to increase in force throughout the
day and be at their worst in the evening.
On Tuesday Scillonian III left the islands early to moor at the Albert
Pier in Penzance where she could shelter from the storm.
A spokeswoman for the Isles of Scilly Steamship Company told The Cornishman
yesterday that Wednesday's sailing had been cancelled because of the severity
of the weather.
"And there is also a big question mark over whether we shall sail
tomorrow," (Thursday) she said.
Passengers were being advised to keep in touch for up-to-date travel
information.
Western Power Distribution yesterday confirmed that the electricity supply
in Mousehole, St Buryan and the Isles of Scilly went off at around 10.30am,
and that the cause was being investigated.
As The Cornishman went to press yesterday afternoon, the Environment
Agency issued a flood warning for the south Cornwall coast from Land's
End to Plymouth.
The agency, which was checking flood status at 15-minute intervals, stated:
"Flooding is now expected, so put your flood plan into action."
Householders in vulnerable areas were advised to put sandbags or floorboards
in place and to tune into local radio stations for regular updates.
article copyright © THE CORNISHMAN
 |
