Storm Brendan bowls in - be safe


Credit: Sallie Mogford



As storm Brendan comes bowling in from the Atlantic, bringing with it heavy rain, strong winds and storm force gusts of around 90mph in some places, HM Coastguard has renewed its appeal for people to take extra care on and around our coastlines and at sea.

The Met Office has issued two yellow weather warnings which means travel disruption is likely in Northern Ireland, Wales, the South West and west coasts of England, Scotland and north-east Scotland. Plus there are more warnings for high winds and more heavy rains as the week progresses.


Credit: Ross Greenhill
As well as issuing renewed warnings to people around the coasts such as staying clear of powerful winds and waves and not risking what could be a last ‘storm selfie’. Other duties increase during particularly bad weather when staff at Coastguard Operations Centres around the UK also have added ‘warning and informing’ duties for shipping and all vessels at sea.

James Instance, Coastguard Controller at Falmouth said: “As you might expect, stormy weather brings more challenges and danger in and around our coastal waters. Our extra safety warning and informing procedures are put in place so we increase the monitoring of traffic in our waters, setting our systems to track them and their progress. We will contact each vessel individually within our areas and ensure they are aware of the weather warnings so they can increase their own safety decisions such as looking out for dragging anchors or heading for a port to shelter from the worst of the storms. The wilder the weather, the harder we work to keep everyone as safe as possible,”

Credit: Michelle Jackson
If you see anyone in trouble around our coasts, don’t delay, call 999 and ask for the Coastguard.


Credit: Scott Wallace

Popular posts from this blog

Label your kit at the coast

Image
Kayaks. Canoes. Paddleboards. What do they all have in common? They’re quite often found on the coastline or drifting out to sea. And if we don’t know who they belong to, we can spend time searching for an owner when they’re home safe and sound. So please help us to help you. Label your kit so that if you do get separated from it, and it turns up somewhere, we can get hold of you. In recent weeks, our Coastguard Rescue Teams have found numerous items such as kayaks and canoes drifting out at sea or abandoned near the shoreline. Unfortunately, some of the items we have found have not had their owners’ contact details written on them nor been reported as missing to the Coastguard. As a result, it makes it difficult for us to find out who it belongs to and also means we can never be completely sure if someone is safe or in the worst case, in trouble at sea. This can place a huge strain on our resources especially during the busy summer period when we have to call upon our Coastgua
Read more

A short history of HM Coastguard

Image
Today HM Coastguard is a world leader in maritime search and rescue. Looking back almost 200 years, the goods, which now travel by road, were carried by hundreds of small ships. Year in year out dozens of ships and hundreds of lives were lost within sight of the coast. Public shock and dismay at the tragedies drove forward the creation of national life saving organisations. Though it’s beginnings lie in those decades HM Coastguard originated not to meet the dangers of the seas but to combat a threat to the country’s economy and security – smuggling. As soon as medieval taxes were charged on imports and exports, people began smuggling. By 1743 th e estimate was that half the tea drunk in Britain was illegally imported and shows that smuggling was highly profitable. Smugglers have often been romanticised but the reality was brutal. Local people lived in fear, with violent reprisals on informers and the murder of revenue officers, while corruption enabled smugglers to evade harsh p
Read more

BOSCASTLE FLOODS: TEN YEARS ON

Image
Boscastle Flooding 16 th August 2004 The storms of Monday 16 August 2004 saw three weeks worth of rain fall in one day. The resulting water began to be funnelled down the valleys surrounding Boscastle and soon the steep roads became rivers. By the time that the water reached the picturesque village, it had picked up enough momentum to become a raging torrent, sweeping into buildings, washing cars away and felling huge trees. Graham King runs the Witches Museum in Boscastle and was also the station officer for the Boscastle Coastguard Rescue Team at the time of the floods: “ My museum is situated next to the harbour near the river ,” says Graham “ and I can see the coastguard equipment store from there. Initially I was concerned that the vehicle and equipment were going to become stranded but I soon began to realise how quickly the situation was deteriorating and called Falmouth Coastguard ” From that point on the villagers and tourists stranded in flood waters were he
Read more