Release date: 25 February 2022
Thank you to everyone across West Sussex who called in to report emergency incidents during and following the severe storms and windy weather of the last week.
Storm Eunice arrived in the county a week ago today on the morning of Friday 18 February amid days of stormy weather. The Met Office issued a rare red alert for much of the country, the first in many years, and wind speeds broke new records.
Teams across West Sussex County Council worked together with emergency planning partners to prepare our response and were deployed throughout the weekend to support communities.
Up to 6pm on the Friday alone, our Highways Team received 554 calls about emergency incidents, compared to an average of around 80 on a normal day. Calls after this time were managed by our out-of-hours service.
By the close of day on Monday, the team had responded to 388 emergency incidents, the majority of which related to clearing trees that had fallen down or been damaged by the winds.
West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service responded to numerous 999 calls from across the county throughout the day and into the weekend, with Joint Fire Control receiving almost 600 calls between 8am and 5.30pm on Friday across West Sussex, East Sussex and Surrey.
Recycling Centres in West Sussex were closed during the worst of the weather and residents who had made bookings were contacted in advance.
Council Leader Councillor Paul Marshall said: “Like much of the rest of the country, West Sussex saw some of the biggest storms in a generation last week, which caused damage to property and significantly disrupted our daily lives.
“I’d like to thank the teams within the County Council and our partners in the emergency services and other local authorities, as well as schools, colleges, and utility and transport providers among others, who helped keep people safe and have been working to get the county moving again as swiftly as possible.
“Thank you also to everyone across West Sussex for your responsible actions to protect yourselves and others, whether it was calling in emergency incidents, changing your plans in order to stay safe and out of the winds, or supporting others, especially the most vulnerable, in our communities.”
You can continue to report an emergency with a road or pavement to the West Sussex Highways Team by calling our customer services on 01243 642 105.
