Power restored to 71,000 homes in Storm Amy clear up
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BBC SSEN engineers in the Highlands repair power lines near Fortrose
Power has been restored to 71,000 homes two days after Storm Amy brought damage and disruption across Scotland. Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) said about 17,000 properties were still without power, as teams worked through challenging conditions on Saturday. A Met Office yellow weather alert covering all of Scotland expired at midnight, while a smaller warning area for high winds in the north east lasted until midday. Environment agency Sepa said north eastern coasts and the Northern Isles could see wave overtopping and some localised flooding continue into Monday.
Gusts of 96 mph were recorded in the Inner Hebrides at the peak of the storm, which brought hundreds of trees down and caused damage to buildings.
Network Rail Scotland The West Highland Line remains blocked as Network Rail faces a "complex" clear up operation
SSEN said extra engineers had been deployed in its control room, to remotely reroute power around damaged parts of the network. Additional tree-cutting teams cleared the way for engineers to reach damage on the network. And a welfare operation was also mobilised, with several hot food vans sent to affected communities. SSEN's Nik Wheeler said: "Our huge reconnection operation is progressing well, although access challenges due to storm debris and fallen trees remain a concern. "There are even more engineers out on the network today than yesterday, thanks to the arrival of dozens more teams from our fellow network operators and contract partners. "They've come here from all over the country, and we're grateful for their help."
Repair teams reconnect fallen power lines at Methven, near Perth
On Saturday, Network Rail Scotland said Storm Amy - the first named storm of the season - had hit "much harder and more quickly" than it expected. Teams attended more than 420 incidents over the weekend, including 60 in the first two hours of the storm, with fallen trees, flooding and debris blocking lines. Several lines in the north of Scotland had been closed ahead of the storm's arrival. However, the track operator said it was forced to close all lines out of Glasgow and routes in southern Scotland without warning. ScotRail services on the West Highland Line and the Inverness to Kyle line remain cancelled due to "complex repairs" which the operator said will take time.
Storm Amy brought high winds and damage across the country
The storm caused damage around the country. In Glasgow, part of the Broomielaw in the city centre was closed when a derelict building collapsed. In Inverness a large shop front sign was blown off at Inshes Retail Park. A family have told of the "petrifying" moment a tree smashed through the windows of their house in Fort William. In Angus, Montrose FC called for "fit and able supporters" to help clear up debris after the boundary wall at Links Park stadium blew over. Several flights and ferry services were cancelled, while some road bridges were either closed or had restrictions on high-sided vehicles.
The Met Office said that Storm Amy set a new record for the deepest area of low pressure in the UK for October. In an area of low pressure the weather is often unsettled.
[SRC] https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c20zen6k4e6o
