Orkney

Summary Information

Orkney is separated from the Scottish mainland by only seven miles, and the unpredictable Pentland Firth.

The archipelago is made up of 67 islands,of which 19 are inhabited. Three of the islands are linked by the famous Churchill Barriers - Mainland, Burray and South Ronaldsay.

86% of Orkney's population live on these three islands, leaving approximately 3,000 people on the remaining 16. Orkney's islands are scattered over an area of 1,700 square miles and 75% of the population live in settlements of less than 500.

Air and sea links provide lifeline services to and from mainland Scotland and between Orkney's north and south isles. Orkney's most northerly island, North Ronaldsay, has only one scheduled ferry per week.

The weather in Orkney is impossible to predict and transport links depend on what the weather throws at us. This can increase the isolation and sometimes means that the islands can be cut off completely from mainland Scotland for a considerable number of days every year.

The main industries are argiculture, energy production - oil, wind and wave energy, fishing, fish farming and tourism.

Orkney Local Emergency Co-ordinating Group (OLECG)

The purpose of the Orkney Local Emergency Co-ordinating Group is to ensure that an appropriate framework for inter-agency co-operation and activity regarding Civil Contingency Planning is in place locally in Orkney.

The objectives of the Group are to ensure effective co-operation within the Orkney Islands area between all category 1 and 2 Responders, agree and approve all local joint working arrangemnts, plans and policies in relation to Civil Contingency Planning. It meets at least twice a year.

The group was convened and operated during an emergency involving serious flooding followed by a water shortage during October 2006.


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