Tens of thousands of people face a night without power after high winds brought chaos in the wake of Storm Malik.
Gusts in excess of 85mph were recorded at the storm’s height, bringing down trees and felling power lines across the north of Scotland- leading to widespread disruption of the electricity grid.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has warned of the 'severe' impact of the storm, and has held a meeting of the Scottish Government's resiliance committee this afternoon.
1/ Chaired @scotgov resilience meeting on weather earlier. Impact of Storm #Malik is severe. Power companies working hard to restore supply ASAP but many SSEN customers, esp in NE may be without power over weekend. Importance of welfare support and good communication stressed.
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) January 29, 2022
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) said it has issued a ‘yellow’ alert as its engineers struggle to reconnect customers, with 44,000 homes left without power in the North East.
READ MORE: Aberdeen woman dies after being hit by falling tree
The company said people living in Aberdeenshire, Angus, Perthshire and the Moray Coast were the worst affected, with some facing a night without power as supplies not expected to be restored before tomorrow.
Aberdeenshire Council has dispatched foodtrucks to the affected areas and local community centres are opening their doors to help those affected by the power cuts.
40,000 homes without power across Grampian. @ssencommunity are deploying hot food trucks to areas most impacted. @LLAberdeenshire leisure facilities are open for showers etc. Except Ellon & Alford Community Campus' as they have no power. #donttravel #staysafe #StormMalik pic.twitter.com/oibtvzYTJU
— AberdeenshireCouncil (@Aberdeenshire) January 29, 2022
SSEN operational teams have successfully restored power to over 3,800 customers, working in what was called "extremely challenging” conditions.
The firm said staff were closely monitoring a second weather front, named by the Met Office as Storm Corrie, which is forecast to impact the north of Scotland from tomorrow afternoon and which has the potential to cause further damage.
Boats tipped over in Inverkip by the high winds
Richard Gough, Director of Distribution System Operations at SSEN, said: “Our teams continue to respond to the impact of Storm Malik, which has resulted in widespread damage to electricity infrastructure across the north of Scotland.
READ MORE: 'Danger to life' warning in place as extreme winds to batter Scotland
“With high winds expected to continue throughout the day, it’s possible that some customers may remain off supply overnight and we are mindful of a second weather front arriving on Sunday. As soon as our teams have fully assessed the damage caused we will update customers on restoration times.
“We continue to proactively contact customers on our Priority Services Register to offer extra support where required and I’d encourage anyone concerned to give our dedicated teams a call on 105, where we can provide additional support and guidance.”
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