Here is a briefing on how badly Storm Doris has affected our City today.
Sadly there is a death attributed to Storm Doris here in our City.
A Young Woman employed in the City was hit by flying debris outside Starbucks, Dudley Street, Wolverhampton.
A cordon was in place and Dudley Street and the Mander and Wulfrun Centre entrances nearby were closed. The road remained closed until Police had completed their investigations.
The City Council has attended and been on the roof with Fire Service. A second skylight has been made safe and further checks have been made with rooftop safety in mind.
WEATHER
Winds gusting 70/80 MPH have been hitting the City and we seem to be taking the brunt of Storm Doris in the West Midlands.
Conflicting reports say it will ease between 4-5 pm or Midnight. Council is working on midnight as a worst case scenario so that we remain prepared.
COMMUNICATIONS
Messages have gone out from Wolverhampton City Council Communications all day to the general public to keep journeys to a minimum. An update message on the storm’s consequences and road closures is also taking place.
I am pleased to be informed that a message to the Family of the bereaved is going from the Council via the City Mayor.
Keith Ireland Managing Director is sending a message to Council employees to update them, on the on going situation…..
Wolverhampton City Council will have Senior On Duty staff overnight-
TRAVEL
Trains have been stopped, no known time to reinstate service at time of briefing.
Metro Status is operating with minor delays due to Speed restriction.
Buses have sporadic disruptions (65 at time of briefing) due to debris and trees fallen, but are attempting to keep their timetables within the city.
OPERATIONAL WORK IN THE CITY
Approx 50 trees have fallen in Wolverhampton
The Public Realm team are dealing with incidents as they arise and are gradually working there way through, prioritising those which affect transport infrastructure as long as life and limb are not threatened.
City Council requested an update to Power outages in the area, in order to map against known vulnerable people’s addresses. The Western Power Distribution Website is too busy to get the required information at this time. This information will be confirmed shortly.
I hope my constituents in Wednesfield North are better informed about Storm Doris after this briefing….
