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| Sandymount, Dublin. Pic Laura Walsh |
The Government launched the ‘Be Winter-Ready’ 2019-2020 Information
Campaign on 6th November focusing this year on the different colour
codings associated with Met Éireann weather warnings.
The
campaign was jointly launched by Minister with responsibility for
Defence and Chairman of the Government Taskforce, Mr. Paul Kehoe T.D.,
Minister for Business Enterprise and Innovation, Ms. Heather Humphreys
T.D., Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Mr. Shane Ross T.D and
Minister with special responsibility for Housing and Urban Development,
Mr Damien English T.D.
Also in attendance were representatives from the various Departments and Agencies tasked with emergency planning and response.
The
launch coincided with a meeting of the Government Task Force on
Emergency Planning, which dealt with winter-preparedness issues.
The ‘Be Winter-Ready’ campaign, which is the ninth of its kind, is intended to raise awareness about the particular challenges that winter can present.
This is now an established and important annual event impacting across the whole public service.
The
campaign highlights the ‘Whole of Government’ approach being taken to
winter preparations. This sort of approach was seen during recent
storms which posed challenges for communities, businesses, Government
Departments and Agencies.
Importantly, the ‘Be Winter-Ready’
campaign informs the public of what is being done in relation to winter
preparations and where they can source valuable information that can
assist them through a difficult period.
Met Éireann weather warnings
This year’s ‘Be Winter-Ready’ campaign is focused on “Met Éireann’s Weather Warnings”.
The
Office of Emergency Planning, in collaboration with their colleagues in
Met Éireann, have designed and produced a leaflet on these weather
warnings. This leaflet and leaflets from previous Be Winter Ready
campaigns are available on the winterready.ie website.
This main focus of this years ‘Be Winter Ready’ campaign is about explaining this colour coding.
Status Yellow: While
a Status Yellow warning is for weather that does not pose a threat to
the general population this does not mean that caution should not be
taken; it is potentially dangerous but on a localised scale. If Met Éireann issue
a Status Yellow warning you should check if you are exposed to danger
due to your activity or your specific location and you should take
appropriate action to protect yourself.
Status Orange: A
Status Orange warning may pose a threat to life and property with
people in the affected area being impacted significantly. In this
circumstance you should take advice from the Local Authorities and
Gardaí and think about delaying or canceling your activities as
appropriate. It may be useful to consider the impact of the weather
event in advance and if there is anything that you can do to minimise
the potential damage to you or your property.
Status Red: In the event that Met Éireann issue a Status Red weather warning you should take action to keep yourself safe.
More from Met Éireann here.