Storm Babet cut power to 33,000 Scots homes amid weather chaos

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Storm Babet has cut power from more than 33,000 customers in Scotland but the vast majority are now reconnected, energy firm Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) said.As of shortly after 10am, work continues to reconnect 1,100 properties north of the border.

It comes amid red weather warnings in place for parts of Angus and Aberdeenshire and an amber warning for rain in the Scottish borders.Rescue operations have been underway in Brechin after flood defences were breached in the early hours of Friday morning, leading to hundreds of homes being surrounded by water.

Jacqui Semple, head of risk, resilience and safety for Angus Council, said homes across the area were being flooded, saying it is “right across Angus”.Andy Smith, operations director at SSEN Distribution said: “We’re making good progress for our customers in response to this very severe storm.“The impacts of high winds and flooding mean it’s a challenge to get to all faults quickly and safely.

But we have brought in considerable extra operational capacity to respond to issues that today’s weather may bring, including teams from our contractors and network partners." He added: “We’re in touch with the most vulnerable people in our community, and we’re putting support on the ground where it’s needed the most.“Our focus remains restoring power as quickly as possible, and limiting the duration that our customers will be without power; I would like to thank them for their patience.”The storm has also claimed the lives of three people across the UK.