Storm Malik update

A meeting of the Scottish Government’s Resilience Room (SGoRR) – chaired by the First Minister and attended by a number of Ministers - was held earlier today to ensure appropriate measures are in place to deal with the impacts of Storm Malik and Storm Corrie.

Following Saturday’s Amber weather warning and the disruption caused as a result of Storm Malik, a further Amber Warning for the North of Scotland and a Yellow Weather Warning for the rest of the country is in place for Storm Corrie, which is expected to bring more very strong winds across Scotland, particularly the Western Isles, Highlands, Grampian and Tayside areas, through Sunday evening and into Monday morning .

Deputy First Minister John Swinney said:

“On behalf of the Scottish Government, I would like to offer sincere condolences to the family and loved ones of the lady who died in Aberdeen this morning.

“Damage has been widespread across the country but the intensity of the impact is being felt very much in the northeast of Scotland. SSEN have engineers out across the area and will continue to assess the damage caused to their network and the extent of repairs needed.

“We know that power has already been restored to more than 33,000 homes, but an estimated 53,000 customers remain without supply and unfortunately we think about 20,000 of these will probably still be off supply overnight. As Storm Malik will be followed shortly by Storm Corrie, disruption could last for a number of days.

“Local resilience partnerships are working to put in  place welfare support for individuals who have lost power and there are many leisure centres in Aberdeenshire which are providing support for people. Some school catering facilities are also available and power companies have commissioned mobile catering companies.

“The Scottish Government’s resilience committee will continue to monitor the situation overnight and into tomorrow, and keep Ministers fully updated.

"We will remain in close contact with local authorities and the emergency services to ensure people in the affected areas receive the latest information, advice and support where needed.”

Background

Corrie is expected to bring widespread gusts of 50-60mph across much of Scotland. Across northern Scotland, gusts of 70-80mph are expected, potentially even up to 90mph in exposed coastal locations and the high ground, through Sunday evening and into Monday morning.

An Amber Weather warning has been issued by the Met Office for the North of Scotland along with a Yellow Warning for the rest of the country. It is likely strong winds will cause further travel disruption and some large and dangerous waves in coastal areas.

Please follow @metoffice for any updates to the weather warnings in place.

Members of the public should continue to report and track estimated restoration times on the SSEN and SP Energy Networks websites.

ENDS