Weather latest: Scotland slowly gets back to normal but storm ‘cost economy £100m’

Published on Friday 9 December 2011 17:28

Scotland was gradually getting back to normal today after hurricane-force winds brought chaos to the country and cost the economy an estimated £100 million.

Gales closed schools, cut off power to tens of thousands of homes and forced rescue missions in parts of the country.

The winds have been easing off in most of the country, with the worst confined to north east Scotland and the Shetland Islands.

Snow and ice are also causing problems in northern areas and disruption persisted further south.

Glasgow Airport and Edinburgh Airport were open but warned of severe delays and cancellations.

Scotrail services were still delayed across Scotland. Cancellations were expected on routes between Inverness and Aberdeen, Gourock and Glasgow Central, and Oban and Fort William to Glasgow Queen Street.

The Met Office issued warnings about ice on the roads.

Northern Constabulary said conditions have improved across the Western Isles and the Highlands but many roads are still blocked by fallen trees and surface water.

• Do you have photos of the weather conditions in your area? Send them for publication to [e-mail]

Severe weather in Orkney has caused widespread damage and flooding. The B9047 South Walls road on Hoy island is closed at the causeway and several areas are without power.

All schools in Orkney, Caithness and the north coast of Sutherland in the Highlands are shut.

Fourteen schools closed in Aberdeenshire and some schools in Angus, Argyll and Bute, Shetland, Stirling and the Western Isles had power failures.

Aberdeenshire council said its services have been badly affected by the weather. The area also has problems with telephone networks and internet connections.

A council spokesman said trees came down on many roads but they were being removed.

Engineers were working to restore power to the tens of thousands of homes cut off by the storms.

Scottish Power said it had reconnected 95 per cent of its customers, while Scottish Hydro said around 50,000 of its customers were without power last night and it expected the number to increase before things got better.

Guy Jefferson, operations director for Scottish Power, said around 2,000 of its customers had no power this morning. Ayrshire and Fife were the worst affected, with about 500 homes in each area still cut off.

He said the company had 600 staff out at first light, aiming to reconnect customers by the end of the day and the company is engaged in a “gigantic effort” to restore power.

The single day of hurricane-force winds could cost Scotland’s economy around £100 million, business experts have warned.

Early closures, blocked roads, power outages and employees staying at home caused a drop in both revenue and productivity.

Analysts from professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) said the lost revenue caused by winter weather could push already struggling businesses over the edge.

Meanwhile, renewable energy experts today dismissed an incident where a wind turbine caught fire in the gale force winds as a “freak” occurrence.

The 328ft (100m) tall turbine, at Ardrossan Wind Farm, near the A78 in North Ayrshire, was destroyed after it exploded into flames which could be seen “far and wide”.

Charles Anglin, of RenewableUK, the trade and professional body for the UK wind and marine renewables industries, stressed that wind turbines were regularly subjected to “some pretty tough conditions” without problem.

He said: “There’s some pretty freak weather going on and any piece of large power generating equipment can be subject to freak accidents or mechanical faults.

• For more information on the forecast, visit the Met Office website

• For information about the roads, visit trafficscotland.org

• The latest rail information is available from National Rail

• Detailed school closures can be found on local council websites and local radio

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  5 Comments

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9

fourbyfour

Sunday, December 11, 2011 at 12:38 PM

The £100m figure sounds implausible. Is there any solid basis for such a claim?

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8

meteorquake

Friday, December 9, 2011 at 11:43 PM

i well-designed economy should have no problem missing a day off work. But of course, we (i.e. modern societies generally) don't have a well-designed economy... it's designed to be so widely-diversified on things of little relevence to fundamental living and with so little leeway, that it's permanently on edge and suffers from the slightest knock... d

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7

Tartancult

Friday, December 9, 2011 at 09:40 PM

So, what are you saying sam - we should ban hurricanes?

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6

samcoldstream

Friday, December 9, 2011 at 08:35 PM

In August, 2011, as was widely reported, Hurricane Irene tore through North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Vermont, New Jersey, and New York City and State. 375,000 people were evacuated in New York City alone. 1.4 million people in 6 states lost electricity for 4 days. The average wind speed in some places was ONLY 65 mph. The Federal Government declared a State of Emergency and the overall cost was estimated at $6 billion(£4.4 billion). (Source: 28th August, 2011, edition of The New York Times)

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5

Tartancult

Friday, December 9, 2011 at 06:59 PM

Things break Lachie and then they get fixed. When they get fixed there is a cost attached to such an event. This relates to everything - including your current pet peeve......However, in general terms "Who will pay the £2.8 million to replace this monstrosity?".......................You and the rest of the taxpayers will.

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4

squiggle156

Friday, December 9, 2011 at 06:57 PM

re TART AN' CULT: As an act of God , that would be God!

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3

Lachie Mhor

Friday, December 9, 2011 at 06:42 PM

I see that Benitos green power strategy took a knock when one of his wind machines blew up. How will he explain this and how does he propose to provide sustainable energy sources. Who will pay the £2.8 million to replace this monstrosity.

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2

Incandescent

Friday, December 9, 2011 at 06:40 PM

"The single day of hurricane-force winds ***could*** cost Scotland’s economy around £100 million, business experts have warned" ----------------------- PWC, do everyone a favour and shut it with your nonsense.

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1

Tartancult

Friday, December 9, 2011 at 05:47 PM

Never mind all the details about trees down and icy roads - who can we blame for this weather?

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