Storm Floris: Scottish government holds emergency meeting amid warnings of more UK travel disruption

The Guardian

5 hours ago

The Scottish government has held emergency meetings in response to the 'significant disruption' caused by Storm Floris across the country, with warnings of further travel chaos on Tuesday as poor weather continues.
On Monday night, the Scottish government's Resilience Room held a meeting to help decide an appropriate response to the storm, which has included power outages and almost 120 rail incidents. Representatives from the Met Office, Police Scotland, Transport Scotland and transport and utilities companies were in attendance.
The Scottish government said there have been 119 incidents on the rail network caused by Storm Floris, including 75 tree-related ones.
With winds of up to 90mph in some parts of the country, a significant clear-up job will be required to inspect train lines and carry out repair work before it is safe to restore a full service, with more wet and windy weather forecast for late on Wednesday and Thursday. ScotRail is urging customers to check their journey via the app, website or JourneyCheck before they travel on Tuesday.
During the meeting, ministers heard that utilities companies are working to reconnect properties experiencing power outages, while trunk road companies are continuing to remove fallen trees and debris from damaged infrastructure from roads.
After the meeting, justice and home affairs secretary Angela Constance said: 'As expected, there has been significant disruption, particularly across the travel networks.'
'We are still in an amber warning, and the advice remains to stay well informed, keep yourselves and others safe and avoid travel if you can, until the danger has passed.
'The weather is expected to improve tomorrow, but the recovery period – both to reconnect homes to power and get transport back to normal – will require some time to clear the debris.'
Network Rail said it has 'worked closely with all train operators' to coordinate the railway's response to the storm, adding 'we've been working around the clock to keep services moving today.
Network Rail previously said it is working 'tirelessly' to clear routes blocked by falling trees and debris, and that disruption was likely to continue into Tuesday.
Rail, road and ferry travel were disrupted and festival events cancelled as Storm Floris swept across Scotland, bringing with it heavy rain and strong gusts. Disruption on the railways has left passengers facing multiple cancellations, while a number of roads around the country have been blocked.
Met Office data showed a gust of 134mph was recorded at the summit of Cairn Gorm in the Highlands on Monday, 1,245 metres above sea level. The strongest gust away from mountains was 80mph at South Uist. Rail travel was severely disrupted, with LNER telling passengers not to travel north of Newcastle. Avanti West Coast advised people not to travel north of Preston.
The Forth Bridge was closed to doubledecker buses, motorcyclists and pedestrians and many other bridges were closed to high-sided vehicles. In Newcastle, the Tyne Bridge was closed to all traffic because of the wind.
Police previously said they had received 'multiple reports' of campervans being blown over on the A87 between Broadford and Portree on Skye, while in Aberdeenshire the A96 is closed in both directions near Old Rayne because of several fallen trees.
Monday's performance of the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo was cancelled, the first time in its 75-year history that it had not gone ahead because of the weather. A swathe of Edinburgh festival fringe events were also cancelled.
Met Office deputy chief meteorologist Mike Silverstone said: 'While the system later this week won't carry as many impacts as Storm Floris, a further period of unseasonable wet and windy weather is on the way late on Wednesday and into Thursday for those in northwestern parts of the UK.