Storm Éowyn recovery

The Scottish Government’s Resilience Room (SGORR) met this afternoon to hear about further progress to reconnect power and reopen rail lines and schools following Storm Éowyn.

It heard:

• 5,900 properties are without power, with the vast majority expected to be reconnected in the course of today or tomorrow
• Network Rail has restored enough infrastructure to allow around 75% of services to resume, and is working at pace to open up the remaining lines
• At least two schools are confirmed to be closed tomorrow

Justice and Home Affairs Secretary Angela Constance said:

“Three days after the worst of Storm Éowyn, we can see how the sheer scale of the damage continues to impact Scotland’s return to normal. I want to thank everyone who is playing their part, day and night, to get services back up and running.

“Utilities companies are working as fast as possible, in often challenging in weather conditions, and have reconnected over 280,000 properties. Around 5,900 properties are still without power and companies are in touch with those households to estimate restoration times and offer welfare or other support.

"While trunk roads and ferries are largely operating as normal, the railway continues to recover and Network Rail has experienced over 500 incidents. ScotRail were scheduled to operate 50% of services today but this has increased to around 73% over the course of today. We can however expect continued disruption on some lines to last until later this week, so I would ask passengers to be patient and check ScotRail and Network Rail information before they travel. 

“A very small number of schools will be closed tomorrow and relevant councils will be in touch with parents and pupils where appropriate.”

Background 

SGoRR was chaired by Justice and Home Affairs Secretary Angela Constance and attended by Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop, Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth, Rural Affairs and Islands Secretary Mairi Gougeon and Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity Jim Fairlie. They were joined by representatives from the Met Office, Police Scotland, Transport Scotland, SEPA, transport and utilities companies and resilience partners.

Met Office weather warnings are available on the Met Office website. 

Flood alerts are issued by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency and can be viewed on their website. 

Advice on preparing for severe weather can be found on the Ready Scotland website.