42,000 homes left without power as Storm Amy sweeps country

About 42,000 homes remained without power and there was widespread travel disruption as Storm Amy swept across the country on Saturday.

Many railway lines and roads were closed and ferry services were disrupted amid high winds with gusts of more than 100mph recorded in some exposed areas.

The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for wind covering the whole of the UK on Saturday, while an amber weather warning of “damaging” winds is in force in northern Scotland until 9pm.

Irish police said a man died in a “weather-related” incident in the Letterkenny area of County Donegal, Republic of Ireland, shortly after 4.15pm on Friday.

Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN), the distribution network operator for the north of Scotland, said 42,000 homes remain without power due to the storm, while more than 33,000 customers have been reconnected.

The company said hundreds of additional team members were working on SSEN’s response to the storm which it said saw wind speeds reach 96mph at lower levels on the island of Tiree, and gusts of more than 100mph in exposed areas.

The company said the strength of the winds has had a “considerable impact” on the network.

SSEN’s head of customer operations for the north of Scotland, Nik Wheeler, said: “Amy’s winds have continued to blow at damaging speeds, and more network damage is expected before the end of Saturday.

“Engineering and tree-cutting teams are well placed to respond, and they’ve been doing so as safely and quickly as they can in what are challenging conditions.

“I want to reassure our customers that every resource at our disposal is being directed at the reconnection operation, and our efforts to ensure people are kept well informed and looked after while these essential repairs are carried out.”

In Moray, a man was airlifted to safety by coastguard helicopter after he was stranded on a sandbank in a river in stormy conditions.

A passer-by raised the alarm at about 10am on Saturday after spotting the man stuck under the Spey viaduct on the River Spey near Garmouth in Moray.

He was said to be safe and well after being rescued.

Network Rail Scotland said the storm has caused “significant disruption” across the network with many routes closed on Saturday afternoon.

It said that more than 170 separate incidents had been recorded by Saturday morning and that teams were “working around the clock” to repair extensive damage caused by Storm Amy.

On Saturday morning, ScotRail said about 80 trees had been brought down on lines and engineers were checking routes before resuming services.

All services out of Glasgow Central were suspended until at least 2pm on Saturday.

Mark Ilderton, ScotRail service delivery director, said Network Rail and ScotRail teams will “work flat out” to recover services as quickly as possible and advised passengers to check their journey before travelling.

He said: “We’re sorry to customers who have been impacted by the disruption caused by Storm Amy.”

The Met Office has updated a yellow weather warning for northern Scotland on Sunday which is now extended further down Scotland’s east coast and is in place until midday on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Royal Parks confirmed closure of all of its national parks in London on Saturday due to “severe wind gusts”, including Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens and St James Park.

In a statement on its website, the Royal Parks said: “Due to severe wind gusts caused by Storm Amy, all of the royal parks, plus Brompton Cemetery and Victoria Tower Gardens, will be closed on Saturday October 4.

“This closure includes all park roads and cycleways, cafes and kiosks, parks sports venues, the Serpentine lido and boating lake, and the royal parks shop.”

A new record for the deepest area of low pressure in the UK for October has also been set.

Storm Amy showed central pressure of 947.9 hectopascal (hPa) at Baltasound, Shetland. The previous record was 950.9hPa in 1988.

Belfast International Airport said delays may still be possible on Saturday and advised travellers to check airlines for the latest flight information.

Comedian Jason Manford had to cancel his show in Belfast on Friday.

He wrote on social media: “Due to extreme weather conditions caused by Storm Amy, the British Airways plane that Jason Manford was flying on this afternoon could not land in Belfast and was re-routed to Manchester.”

The Met Office said that a gust of 92mph was recorded at Magilligan in Northern Ireland on Friday late afternoon.

Glasgow Airport said people should check the status of their flight with airlines.

Met Office chief forecaster Neil Armstrong said: “Storm Amy will be an impactful autumn storm for many in Scotland and Northern Ireland, though impacts will also spread to north-west England and Wales, as well as a more widespread windy period for the rest of the UK.”