Drop-ins organised to discuss flooding

THE Scottish Environment Pro-tection Agency (Sepa) is inviting local residents to learn about the new and improved flood warnings for the River Findhorn and River Lossie.

More than 1350 homes and businesses are already signed up to receive advance notification of flooding.

Floodline customers receive free advance notification when flooding is predicted providing crucial time to get flood-prepared.

Sepa is calling on locals in Elgin and Forres to attend special drop-in sessions. It has improved the flood warnings to take into account the building of flood alleviation schemes at Forres, Elgin and Dallas, and has also developed four new flood warning areas covering the Lossie.

There will be a session at Elgin Library from 2-7pm on Tuesday, May 21, and Forres Town Hall from 2-7pm on Wednesday, May 22.

Sepa has also written to 120 householders and businesses in the new flood warning areas, to help them find out more about the benefits of signing up to Floodline.

Sepa operates a 24-hour flood forecasting and warning service to inform first responders, local authorities and emergency services of emerging flood events and the potential impact on local communities and critical infrastructure. Operating 365 days a year, more than 300 flood alerts and 400 flood warnings are issued annually via Floodline directly to 26,944 customers nationwide, with many thousands more accessing them online.

Vincent Fitzsimons, Sepa’s head of hydrology, said: “Every day Sepa works to help Scotland prepare more powerfully for future increased flooding in the face of clear science on climate change.”

Sepa currently provides advance flood warnings for over 280 areas across Scotland, and people can sign up to receive free notifications direct to their choice of mobile or landline numbers at sepa.org.uk/floodingsignup or by calling 0345 988 1188.