Autumn/Winter 2020/21 Issue
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Regional Community Resilience Group GETTING WEATHER READY The Regional Community Resilience Group (RCRG) Newsletter – Keeping members weather ready Getting ready for Winter Driving As the evenings including full beam, fog condition of your wiper blades. Contents lights and indicators. There’s nothing worse than Contents start to draw in and your view being obscured due A careful driver will also be Winter 2018 to wipers that don’t effectively the weather turns thinking about how they will Autumn/Winter 2020/21 clear the screen. autumnal, it’s a great modify their driving including always wearing their seatbelt CLICK TO READ... Finally, don’t let your fuel tank time to start thinking and extra precautions they drift into the red, make sure Getting ready for Winter Driving might take to cope with any about getting your your phone is fully charged/ weather related eventuality. Weather Summary car ready for winter carry a charger. If poor NI Water Demand Surge & Water Efficiency weather is forecast check Allow yourself additional space driving. TrafficwatchNI for travel Introducing the TICC and time in slippery or wet up-dates, leave yourself more Power Cut Ready conditions and you should Your mechanic should check; time for your journey and lastly, make manoeuvres smoothly What is the NI Resilience Strategy? always remember to respect • Brakes are properly with no harsh acceleration or Lockdown Help for Farms everyone’s journey and drive functioning, braking. safely. Test Trace Protect Needs Your Support • Anti-freeze levels are correct #BeReadyNI Campaign September 2020 – ideally 50/50 ratio, Carry a cold weather kit in your car to include a shovel, torch, Get your flu vaccine • The battery is still effective blanket, hi-visibility vest, screen Toome Road Flood Alleviation Scheme and can cope with colder wash, food and drink supplies, temperatures and increased Derry City and Strabane District Council adopt scraper and de-icer, and even Climate Change Adaptation Plan usage, snow grips for your shoes in Draft Fermanagh and Omagh DC Climate Change case you need to walk to safety. • Tyre tread - whilst 1.6mm is and Sustainable Development Strategy the legal limit, ideally 3mm Community Groups contribute to for winter driving and Keep your windscreen clean, regularly check your washer and NI Resilience Strategy • Lights are all functioning, anti-freeze levels and check the Getting Weather Ready / Emergency Numbers Weather Summary Regional Community Resilience Group Thus far, 2020 has who travel across the border for work or other activities have access to the been a notable year latest warnings, allowing them the GETTING weather wise. In opportunity to prepare for cross- border weather events. February storms Ciara WEATHER and Dennis gave wet The Met Office and Met Éireann READY agreed upon this as part of their and windy conditions partnership work and better sharing and contributed to of warnings across Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Both The RCRG Newsletter the wettest February organisations have collaborated on on record in Northern the high profile storm naming project and this initiative will build on that Contents Ireland with 222mm working relationship with further CLICK TO READ... co-operation expected due to our smashing the previous Getting ready for Winter Driving shared weather systems. record of 194mm in A dramatic change occurred in Rainfall has since returned to Weather Summary 1990. March however as fine, sunny more normal levels, August turned The Met Office is always keen to NI Water Demand Surge & Water Efficiency and very dry conditions became out to be the wettest since 2008 ensure the communication of our Introducing the TICC making the summer season rather Flooding of some low lying roads in established for nearly 3 months. It National Severe Weather Warning disappointing and relatively cool for Power Cut Ready Fermanagh and Tyrone was a feature was the second driest spring since Service (NSWWS) is as accessible holidaying at home. of this period though Northern 1900 and the sunniest spring on and understandable as possible. What is the NI Resilience Strategy? Ireland in general was spared the record with 564 hours of sunshine. With this aim in mind the way Lockdown Help for Farms The combination of dry and sunny we communicate severe weather worst compared to England and All Island Warnings Test Trace Protect Needs Your Support Wales. conditions led to water resource In June Met Éireann updated their warnings is constantly under review #BeReadyNI Campaign September 2020 issues and a heightened wildfire risk website to include the display of Met and we may consider including Met for many areas. Office warnings issued for Northern Éireann warnings on our channels in Get your flu vaccine Ireland. This will ensure that citizens future. Toome Road Flood Alleviation Scheme Derry City and Strabane District Council adopt Climate Change Adaptation Plan Draft Fermanagh and Omagh DC Climate Change and Sustainable Development Strategy Community Groups contribute to NI Resilience Strategy Getting Weather Ready / Emergency Numbers NI Water – Demand Surge & Water Efficiency Campaign Regional Community The campaign as a whole was a Resilience Group Water plays an essential resounding success with colleagues role in the battle against in the clean water side of our GETTING Covid 19 with regular, business seeing an improving situation week on week; demand WEATHER thorough handwashing and water use had reduced. This, coupled with recent rainfall, has READY and staying hydrated seen most reservoirs fully recover. being advised as two of the main ways to fight it. If you would like some FREE The RCRG Newsletter With many people based at home water saving items for your from early April NI Water saw a home such as a shower timer, Contents significant increase in household a toothy timer for the kids or a CLICK TO READ... water use which was largely offset leaky loo pack, then visit www. by a reduction in business water use savewatersavemoney.co.uk Getting ready for Winter Driving with many businesses forced to close. Silent Valley resevoir NI Water is also encouraging Weather Summary However the hot sunny weather customers to sign up to its NI Water Demand Surge & Water Efficiency wide ranging from interactive videos These small changes were not only in May saw a further huge spike free text alert service which Introducing the TICC on social media, to TV and radio relatable but also easily achievable in household water use. This has keeps them updated about advertisements. For example, NI by everyone and would make a big Power Cut Ready not only significantly heightened anything that may impact on Water encouraged everyone to save difference to our water storage levels. demand for water pushing our Water their water supply or any of What is the NI Resilience Strategy? just 30 litres of water per day with 3 Treatment Works to their limits but as our other services in the area. Lockdown Help for Farms simple steps: Going one step further, the team there had been little to no rain since Sign up here www.niwater. regionalised this advice and actively Test Trace Protect Needs Your Support March reservoir levels had dropped com/register-for-keeping-you- 1. Shorten your shower by 1 min - showed customers a recent drone #BeReadyNI Campaign September 2020 to worrying levels. The challenge informed/ this would save 7 litres per day; photo of their reservoir showing how was to launch a public information Get your flu vaccine the levels had dropped. campaign for customers to reduce 2. Turn off the tap when brushing Toome Road Flood Alleviation Scheme water use and ensure there was your teeth - this would save 12 Act now to Derry City and Strabane District Council adopt All of it was then backed up by a save water Water is more important than ever right now. Use these tips to enough water for everyone’s basic litres a day Please reduce your water use. Long protect what matters. spells of very dry weather are reducing Climate Change Adaptation Plan the water in Northern Ireland’s reservoirs. live interactive map on niwater.com So we need everyone to save water. Keep a jug of water in the fridge for drinking. There’ll be Turn off the tap while brushing That will help make sure NI Water can no need to run the tap until it hygiene needs. your teeth to save over 6 litres goes cold every time. keep supplying the clean, fresh water we of water per minute. 3. Put a jug in the fridge instead all need. Draft Fermanagh and Omagh DC Climate Change where a simple click would display There are lots of easy ways to save water around your home. Try making the little changes you see here and you will make a big difference. and Sustainable Development Strategy of running the tap (6 glasses of were your water comes from and For more tips, visit NIWater.com Use your toilet’s half-flush function (if it has one). That’ll In order to avoid a potential drought save 3 litres every flush. Avoid watering the lawn. Even if it looks brown and dry, water), this would save 12 litres what level the reservoir was sitting at. Wash the car with a bucket it’ll bounce back after the next instead of a hose. You’ll save up heavy rain. Community Groups contribute to situation, NI Water encouraged to 1,000 litres of water an hour! a day. NI Resilience Strategy people to save water around the home and garden. The campaign was Getting Weather Ready / Emergency Numbers Introducing the Traffic Information and Control Centre Regional Community Resilience Group Some drivers travelling to help monitor the network. The Network management cameras cover Belfast City Centre, Other work areas within the into Belfast from the the motorway network and many TICC remit include the Network GETTING Bangor direction may other key areas.