Storm Ciarán: Clean-up Continues

The clean-up after Storm Ciarán is continuing this weekend after tearing through Jersey.

Winds in excess of 100mph caused trees to fall, flooding and damage to homes.

Teams are inspecting schools over the weekend to determine whether the buildings are safe to re-open.

So far, Samares School will not open on Monday (6 November). Headteachers will be contacting students and parents affected.

Meanwhile, motorists are being asked to take care if travelling as conditions remain poor, with some roads on the island still blocked by fallen trees and debris.

.@GovJsyIE will continue to clear public roads over the weekend.
Primary priorities will remain focused on major roads, areas identified as unsafe, & locations where access is needed for Emergency Services.

Read the latest update from the @GovJsyIE team: https://t.co/TKIAAY7CKR pic.twitter.com/bIvccByRH6

— Government of Jersey (@GovJersey) November 3, 2023

Jersey Zoo has announced it is to remain closed until further notice after suffering a large amount of damage to its surrounding wildlife and buildings.

Several enclosures were struck by the storm and the organic farm destroyed.

All the animals are safe however the scale of the clear up means it will take some time before the area can be made safe again for visitors.

The large number of uprooted and unstable trees means Jersey Water’s public reservoirs are closed until further notice.

Both Queen’s Valley and Val de la Mare reservoirs will remain closed to the public until the full extent of the damage has been assessed and work started to make the footpaths safe again.

Chief Executive of Jersey Water, Helier Smith, says the sites are currently dangerous.

“Initial inspections of the reservoirs indicate that we have very sadly lost a number of trees across both sites. Footpaths are impassable and very hazardous so we cannot stress enough how important it is for members of the public to respect the closures we have in place.

We face a significant clear-up operation before we can consider re-opening the reservoirs.

Very sadly the arboretum at Val de la Mare has been hit hard and there have been significant losses across the botanical collections, which is particularly upsetting given the important work Jersey Trees for Life has been undertaking since we committed to funding their maintenance programme earlier this year."