Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

New flood warning system will help protect homes and businesses in the Western Isles

South Benbecula causeway from South Uist.
South Benbecula causeway from South Uist.

A new coastal flood alert system is being rolled out across the Western Isles which could protect nearly 7,000 homes and businesses.

The Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) has developed its Floodline service in partnership with the Western Isles Council to include more specific information for those living on the islands.

It is designed for the most at-risk coastal areas on Lewis, Harris, Berneray, Benbecula, North and South Uist, Eriskay, Barra and Vatersay.

Residents can sign up to Sepa’s Floodline to receive advance notice of where and when flooding is expected including shorter range warnings to tell them flooding from the sea, heavy rain or rivers is possible in their area.

The new service, supported by a dedicated forecasting model, includes 24 flood warning areas, with 16 also providing notice of coastal flooding and disruption to roads and causeways.

Within those areas are 1,000 homes and businesses directly at risk – though the environmental agency says nearly 7,000 properties overall could benefit from advance warning of issues like travel disruption.

South Uist councillor Paul Steele urged residents to sign up.

He said: “The more warning we get the better we are able to plan and prepare.

“Localised notifications will be very handy for the community, first responders and emergency services, and will enable them to get procedures in place where they are most needed.”

In 2005,  severe storm and flooding caused the loss of five members of the same family in South Uist.

Mr Steele said: “Events like that are expected once every 50 years and we’re  now 15 years in.

“The worry is with inland flooding, but the advice given by Sepa is that although the warning system isn’t covering every area, you’ll be able to judge based on the warnings they give, knowing that you’ll be affected if you’re between two areas.”

Paul Copestake, Sepa flood advisor said: “The storm event on 11 January 2005 had a widespread impact along the west of Scotland and its islands from Fort William in the south to Orkney in the north.

“For many locations, including for Eilean Siar it remains the largest coastal flood on record.

“After this storm, Sepa was asked by the Scottish Government to incorporate coastal flood warning into the new Floodline service, which at the time focused on river flooding.

“The service developed at that time remains part of the regional flood alerting service which SEPA provides for all areas of Scotland. ”

Mr Copestake said the new local and targeted flood warning scheme is based on enhanced forecasting capabilities, integrating detailed modelling, survey data and monitoring as well as forecasting real time data.

“Coastal flood forecasting for Eilean Siar and Orkney – where a similar scheme has been in operation for the past two years – requires modern computing speeds and the associated innovative science which has only recently become available.

“The Eilean Siar scheme builds on the astronomical tide levels and adds in the surges caused by storms as well as the impact of overtopping waves on natural and built coastal defences.

“This provides the very best advanced warning available for the likely impact to communities and connecting roads and causeways.”

Environment Secretary Roseanna Cunningham said being prepared for a flood event is critical.

“We know the devastating impact that flooding can have on communities and livelihoods – and we know climate change can make this worse.

“Being prepared for any flood event is critical if we are to manage the risks and promote long term flood resilience.”

People can sign up for the Floodline service by visiting www.floodlinescotland.org.uk/eileansiar or calling 0345 988 1188.

The floodline is being rolled out as Scotland marks one year until COP26,  the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, and aims to help at-risk communities deal with increased flooding in future.