Give us better storm warnings, say residents

A BED and breakfast owner has called for a better public warning system after a tidal surge battered the east Caithness coast.

June Burns said not enough information was issued which explained the dangers of the storm, which hit the area on Friday and Saturday.

Waves, estimated to be 25 ft high, washed tonnes of debris into the port of Wick over the course of the two days, including several large boulders.

Ms Burns, who runs the Seaview Guest House at Scalesburn, looked on in horror as people walked along the Scalesburn path with their children to take photographs of the towering waves which crashed only metres away.

She is now calling on the emergency services and Wick Harbour Authority (WHA) to alert the public and especially homeowners near the shoreline to the dangers of tidal surges before they hit.

But she also said people needed to be more responsible and not put their own lives, or those of their children, in danger.

"I had to phone the police to stop people walking past my house with their kids to see the waves at the path," she said.

"I had an argument with one man who was taking his five-year-old son but he said to me he would be all right with his wellington boots.

"It’s unbelievable they put their children’s lives at risk.

"I asked the police to cordon off the road to stop people walking down the path but in the end I put a traffic cone at the entrance to indicate people not to go and to prevent vehicles travelling on the path."

Ms Burns (59), who has operated her business for more than 10 years, did not suffer any flooding inside her property but storm damage to her drains has forced her to find alternative accommodation for her guests until the problem is fixed.

She said there was no warning from the emergency services or the harbour authority that a storm was coming and called for quicker action in the future.

"The damage to the drains means I can’t take any money in, it has affected my livelihood," she said.

"I’ve had to put my only current guest in another bed and breakfast establishment because of the drains.

"I’ve never received any warning from the harbour or police and I think they need to make homes near the shore aware of any dangers in future.

"One storm after another I’m having to chase for sandbags and having to decide if it is safe to take in guests.

"I knew the sea came over the walls when I first moved in but, if I had forewarning, I could be better prepared in future."

Her call was supported by Isobel Leask (75), who runs the Bayview Bed and Breakfast in Port Dunbar and has taken in Ms Burns’ guest.

Though her business was unaffected by the waves, she said people did not understand the danger of rough seas.

"People become fascinated by the waves but I saw people walking on the path when it looked dangerous to be there," she said.

"The waves were smashing into the baths and bringing a lot of large debris on to land, it wasn’t safe."

WHA chairman Willie Watt accepted Ms Burns’ point but said it was not something it had received requests for.

However, he said if there were homes which would find warnings useful, they would be prepared to look into it further.

He added: "We constantly monitor the weather and if people felt they would benefit from a warning system, we would be prepared to provide that information if we thought it would help.

"It is good feedback to receive from businesses in the harbour but we have made more efforts to combat surges in recent years.

"But it is difficult for coastal defences to hold back that amount of water."