Road conditions remain difficult in south east

Responders are continuing to work round the clock to keep people safe during the current difficult weather conditions as the Met Office confirmed a yellow weather warning for snow and ice is in place for Northern Ireland into Saturday.

Multi agency preparations have been ongoing since Monday. Representatives from Northern Ireland departments, councils, utilities and emergency services met this morning to ensure the collective response is as effective as possible.

The Department for Infrastructure has advised that road conditions in the south east in particular are extremely difficult. While efforts continue to clear snow from the main roads and snow ploughing is ongoing, local people should only travel if necessary.

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Salting on the scheduled road network across the rest of Northern Ireland will continue and road users should continue to take extra care if travelling.

The PSNI has asked that motorists slow down, use adequate lights, keep a safe distance from the vehicle in front and be as careful as possible if driving in the difficult conditions. They have also urged the public to check on their neighbours during this period.

Health providers are urging the public to check on the elderly and vulnerable relatives during the cold snap. Trusts are advising the public to check social media for latest updates on services.

The Department for Communities has confirmed that the latest spell of cold weather has triggered a further round of Cold Weather Payments for parts of Northern Ireland.

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A further £1million will be paid automatically to approximately 43,000 people who qualify for the payment and are living in the postcode areas covered by the Met Office’s Katesbridge and Glenanne weather stations.

The postcode areas affected are BT24-26, BT30-35 and BT60-71. Only those qualifying customers living in these postcode areas will receive the £25 payment. The Department will make the payments automatically and customers can expect to receive their payment on Wednesday, March 7. Further information available on the Communities website: www.communities-ni.gov.uk/news/further-cold-weather-payments-temperatures-drop

NI Water is appealing to property owners to leave the heating on low if the building is going to close for a few days and where it is safe to do so, to check empty properties over the weekend for burst pipes.

Advice for farmers can be found at www.daera-ni.gov.uk/news/farmers-advised-prepare-beast-east. For animal welfare advice, DAERA can be contacted on 0300 200 7840.

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Additional contact numbers for other areas of DAERA can be found at: www.daera-ni.gov.uk/contacts/contacting-daera-adverse-weather-conditions

School closures are listed on the Department of Education website: www.education-ni.gov.uk/news/school-closures.

Information and advice, including who to call in the event of an emergency, is available on nidirect: www.nidirect.gov.uk/news/snow-weather-warning-information-and-advice.