Press release: Preparing sirens for winter
Four sirens, located approximately 250 metres apart in Chiswell, will be activated on Thursday (30 November 2017) at 11am, 2pm and 5pm, weather permitting. Local residents are being informed in advance via a leaflet drop and door-knocking exercise.
Rachel Burden, Wessex Flood and Coast Risk Manager at the Environment Agency, said:
Regular siren testing is an essential part of our forward planning, not only to ensure we are incident ready, but also to make sure our community flood warning and informing measures are effective.
If severe storms hit Portland, the sirens will play a crucial part in alerting local residents to imminent danger and potential evacuation. Ultimately, these sirens could help save lives.
The Chiswell area of Portland is classed as a high risk flood area because of the potential for strong south westerly winds, high tides in Lyme Bay and the close proximity of properties to the sea.
Rachel added:
Chiswell was badly affected by the floods in 2013/2014. It is a vulnerable area and can take a heavy pounding from the tides when the south westerly wind picks up. Although good flood protection measures are in place, we can never fully defend against the worst that Mother Nature can throw at us.
The sirens, which are tested twice a year, are extremely loud so that they can be heard above the noise of crashing waves during a storm. These modern sirens were installed in 2010 and replaced older Second World War equipment. An additional siren was put in during 2015 in order to fill a ‘quiet spot’ which was identified during the storms of the previous winter.
The testing will involve remote activation from our Blandford incident room, from the coastguard’s hut and from the individual sirens. Representatives from the Environment Agency will be on hand to assist.
The day supports the annual Environment Agency Flood Action Campaign.