Wave power leaves trail of damage
Waves batter the sea wall in Kirkcaldy. Pic: Neil Doig
EXTREMELY high tides damaged two sections of Kirkcaldy’s sea wall at the weekend.
Huge waves crashed over both the sea wall and the set-back flood wall, flooding the Esplanade.
Two 20 metre sections of the sea wall were damaged by the sheer power of the waves, and reduced in height by half a metre.
Opposite the Mercat Shopping Centre, a 12 metre section of the flood wall at the rear of the promenade, was also knocked over.
Damage
The hand rail at the Invertiel lorry park was also damaged by the fierce conditions.
A team from Fife Council staff was on the Esplanade over the weekend cleaning up the damage.
Sara Wilson, duty winter manager, told the Press: “We had a JCB on site as well as pick-up trucks, sweepers and a small team of dedicated staff.
“Waves exceeded the top of the sea wall during the three high tides over the weekend.
“This brought debris and seaweed onto the promenade, causing damage to the wall at Invertiel and opposite the Mercat.
“The Esplanade and walkway had to be closed to vehicles and pedestrians on these three occasions.”
Barriers
Concrete barriers are currently positioned along the sea wall for the safety of everyone travelling along the Esplanade, and will be removed once remedial works have been completed.
Dr Bob McLellan, head of transportation and environmental services, said: “I’m grateful to my staff for their continued efforts to address the impact of last week’s storm across Fife.”
He added the promenade remains closed to pedestrians to allow repairs to take place and engineers to inspect the sea wall.
He said the Council is committed to the planned capital investment in upgrading the sea wall.
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Weather for Kirkcaldy
Monday 20 May 2013
Today
Thunderstorm
Temperature: 8 C to 19 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 8 C to 16 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: East
