STORM LATEST: Scottish Government emergency meeting pledges support for communities hit by Storm Gerrit as national clean-up operation begins amid continuing power cuts and transport issues
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The Scottish Government is promising support for storm-hit communities after a meeting of a national crisis committee last convened during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Chaired by Justice Secretary and Minister for Resilience Angela Constance and attended by a number of Ministers, the Scottish Government’s Resilience Room (SGoRR) met last night to discuss appropriate measures in response to the impacts of Storm Gerrit.
Thousands of homes and businesses have faced power cuts during the last 48 hours, while on Wednesday hundreds of vehicles were stranded for hours as heavy snow closed the A9 at Dalnaspidal.
The route is now fully opened, but police have asked motorists to avoid unnecessary journeys with some stretches passable with care.
Work was still being carried out this morning to clear fallen tress blocking the A82 south of Fort Augustus, with a diversion in place.
Met Office yellow weather warnings for rain, wind and snow were lifted at midnight last night, but the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) have issued a number of flood alerts and warnings across the country.
Most train services to and from Inverness, with the exception of Glasgow trains, have again been cancelled while ScotRail carries out mass track safety checks from first light after the severe weather.
The Scottish Government says winter weather response plans are in full effect with teams working hard across the transport network to restore services and routes as far as possible – with improvements in weather conditions anticipated today.
Ms Constance stressed every possible support would be given to the recovery effort.
Speaking last night, she said: “Following a combination of rain, wind and snow across the country, I have chaired a meeting of SGoRR to ensure that we’re acting as quickly and safely as possible to mitigate the impacts of Storm Gerrit.
“We know that there are areas across the country where people are without power and SSEN are working to restore this where they can.
“Due to the strong winds, flooding and snow, it is not always safe for SSEN to access areas for repair.
“Local resilience partnerships are working to put in place welfare support for individuals who may be without power overnight.
“There have already been a number of disruptions across the transport network.
“It’s good to see that the incident on the A9 has been cleared and the road has now reopened but people should pass with care.
“Some roads remain closed with operatives working to reopen them as quickly as possible.
“Some railway lines will remain closed tomorrow morning as they require safety inspections within daylight hours.
“People should be mindful that tomorrow there will still be areas where surface water continues to cause disruption – so we would urge everyone to plan their journeys in advance, exercise caution on the roads by driving appropriately to the conditions, and follow the latest travel advice at traffic.gov.scot.
“The Scottish Government’s resilience committee will continue to monitor the situation overnight and into tomorrow, and keep Ministers fully updated.
“Advice and information for the public is available at Ready.Scot and the Scottish Government will continue to work with all relevant agencies to closely monitor the storm and its impacts and ensure support is provided to those affected.”
Joanne Maguire Scotrail’s Chief Operating Officer said: “ScotRail and Network Rail teams have been working flat out to keep people moving where possible, but we have faced extreme conditions in different parts of the country which has resulted in significant disruption.
“The safety of our staff and passengers is our top priority.
“We will be working overnight and early in the morning to inspect the railway and restore services, but disruption is expected to continue into Thursday. Our advice to passengers is to check before travelling via the ScotRail website or app.”
