Spectacular wild winds and waves along the west coast
Monstrous waves, driven by 50 mile-an-hour winds, caused chaos along the west coast yesterday morning and left States workers with a major clean-up operation.
With the sea pounding on the coastal defences from the early hours, waves were over-topping from Rocquaine to Cobo two hours before high tide.
By 7.50am and the height of the 10m-plus tide, spray was flying 10ft over three-storey buildings at Cobo and over the road behind the historic fortifications at Vazon.
The Met Office had issued a red flood warning on Monday evening due to the height of the tides, and winds forecast to reach gale force eight overnight.
States Works operations director Ian Gavet said that staff had been busy all day with clean-up operations.
‘Storm boards were in place as usual when high tides and windy conditions are forecast,’ he said.
‘We worked with other States stakeholders to close the road at Perelle, which is subject to flooding in such conditions.
‘Along the west coast we have been busy clearing roads that were littered with debris, such as stones, sand and seaweed. Inland, our teams were also busy clearing roads of detritus, including fallen tree branches and leaves, to help avoid drain blockages.’
Bailiwick Law Enforcement advised islanders to avoid the coast between Cobo and Vazon this morning, due to the amount of storm debris in the area.
The coastal road at Perelle has remained closed since late Monday afternoon and Traffic & Highways Services said it was due not to reopen until after this morning’s high tides to ensure any further debris could be cleared.
Tides this morning were forecast to be even higher than yesterday, reaching 10.1m and the Met Office issued an amber tide warning for the west and east coasts.
Civil protection officer Dave Hodge said meetings had been held with the emergency services yesterday to assess the implications of the forecast.
‘We kept a watching brief on the west coast on Monday evening but as roads drained quickly there weren’t too many problems,’ he said.
‘We will be back in St Peter Port as the tide is 0.1m higher. That can make the difference between cresting and flooding.’
