Weather warnings – school closures and public safety information

The Met Office has issued a series of weather warnings for strong winds for Monday and Tuesday.

These include an amber wind warning for Northern Ireland for Monday as ex-Hurricane Ophelia passes through. This alert will be in effect from 12 noon to 23:00.

The Department of Education has advised that all schools should close tomorrow (Monday 16 October). The Department for the Economy has also advised all Further Education colleges should close. This is entirely precautionary, however given the weather warnings and the fact that the most severe weather is forecast for when pupils are due to be leaving school, the Department believes that this is an appropriate response.

A regional meeting of multi-agency emergency responders met this evening to discuss a co-ordinated approach in light of the latest Met Office assessment. Key statutory agencies will continue to monitor the situation as it unfolds and are prepared to respond as appropriate.

It is important members of the public take care to protect themselves and their property from the effects of the strong winds. It is also likely that there will be some disruption to traffic and travel. For information on traffic and travel go to the TrafficwatchNI website.  

More detailed information on keeping safe and useful contact numbers is available on the nidirect website.

The public are reminded to monitor the Met Office forecasts for their area and to be aware of the weather conditions and to heed safety warnings.

Emergency responders will continue to monitor this developing situation and issue further information as appropriate.

Members of the public should note the following numbers in case of emergency:

• Emergency services – 999 or 112
• Housing Executive – 03448 920 901
• Northern Ireland Electricity Networks – 03457 643 643
• NI Gas Emergency Service – 0800 002 001
• Northern Ireland Water Waterline – 03457 440 088
• Flooding Incident Line – 0300 2000 100

Notes to editors: 

1. Media enquiries to the relevant department's press office: The Executive Office Press Office on 028 9037 8201; Department of Education on 028 9127 9207; Department for Infrastructure on 028 9054 0004. Out of office hours please contact the Duty Press Officer via pager number on 07623 974 383 and your call will be returned.

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