Storm Ciarán: Guernsey ‘still likely to suffer from further bad weather’, says Chief Minister

Fred Dimbleby reports on the damage in Guernsey.


Guernsey's Chief Minister says the island will "still be likely to suffer from further bad weather" in the coming days, following the arrival of Storm Ciarán.

An orange wind warning remains in place for the Channel Islands, where wind speeds of up to 104mph have been recorded.

Deputy Peter Ferbrache has thanked the emergency services and volunteers for their "magnificent" support, but urged islanders to continue to be vigilant while unsettled weather continues.

"I would also like to thank all members of the Bailiwick for their resilience, cooperation and good sense. Some people will have suffered damage to their property but we will hopefully be able to remedy that as soon as is practical.

Deputy Ferbrache added that thoughts are with "our friends and cousins in Jersey for what has happened there. They will like us be resilient and deal with the challenges they face with fortitude".

  • Alderney's President says the island was "incredibly lucky" as Storm Ciarán passed through.


Alderney was also buffeted by the storm but has largely escaped any major damage.

President William Tate said the island has been "incredibly lucky over the course of the last 24 hours".

"We haven't suffered the sort of damage that we've seen in Jersey and to a lesser extent in Guernsey but good luck is not enough. You have to have planning and the community went to bed last night full in the knowledge that all the planning had been done."

  • A yacht bore the brunt of the strong winds, destroying its mast and a number of trees were brought down across the island.


In Sark islanders escaped pretty lightly too, despite the wind sweeping from across the west coast.

Part of the island was completely cut off for a period, but remarkably, despite all the damage, emergency services did not have to be called out.

Christopher Beaumont, Seigneur of Sark said "people did the sensible thing and they weren't out and about, they kept themselves indoors. We're not as densely populated as other islands so when trees come down they don't come down on houses which is a good thing".

  • Herm was also hit by Storm Ciarán in the early hours of Thursday 2 November.


A post on the Herm Island Facebook page wrote: "Little Herm has taken a bit of a battering from Storm Ciarán but, whilst we haven't been able to assess the whole island for damage yet, we are happy to report that all residents are safe and well.

"Sadly, we've lost numerous trees on Harbour Hill, the Spine Road and the path down to Belvoir Bay, a fair amount of tiles from roofs and some other damage to buildings, including skylights from the hotel which has caused water damage in a couple of rooms, but nothing too dramatic.

"Special thanks to Lee and the team for making safe and checking for damage, and to all who will be involved in the clean-up operation to follow.

"Our thoughts to our fellow Channel Islanders in Jersey who bore the brunt of the storm, and to anyone who has been affected in its wake."


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