Issued : Wednesday 17 November, 2010

A presentation of the early flood warning system for Bandon was made to members of Bandon Town Council at it’s meeting last night. This system will allow residents and traders to register for text alerts when the water is particularly high and to track water levels online.

When the water reaches dangerous levels a text message will be sent to anyone who registers withwww.bandonfloodwarning.ie. There will be no cost involved in registering for this service. Alerts will be issued under three categories – Yellow, Orange and Red.

A text will be sent to those registered when the water is deemed to have reached a high Yellow, Orange and Red. This will alert people of the impending rise in water levels. They can then log onto the website and track the rise of the water. The whole system is intended to give the public every opportunity to take the necessary precautions to protect their property.

It is expected that people will receive a high Yellow warning a number of times a year. The system is designed to provide up to 5 hours notice. A launch evening will be organised for the people of Bandon in early December to inform them of the system in more detail.

This is the first such system in the Country and it is designed with the needs of the public in mind. It is an automatic system and does not rely on anyone to operate it or to issue the warnings.

This is a very welcome development and I think it will be very beneficial for the town’s people. However, we cannot rest on our laurels. The much promised and long overdue funding for the main drainage scheme and the flood relief works and defences needs to be prioritised by Government. This is the only way to adequately ensure the safety of our community.