Storm Eowyn is a warning ‘climate change is with us’, says First Minister
Storm Eowyn is a warning ‘climate change is with us’, says First Minister
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Scotland’s First Minister has said reconnecting power in Scotland following Storm Eowyn has been a “colossal” task and the impact is a “warning that climate change is with us”. Tens of thousands of homes were left without power after the storm hit on Friday with almost 8,000 homes still cut off on Monday morning.
Gusts hit 100mph north of the border as high winds claimed one life and caused widespread damage, disrupting travel and damaging property. Speaking at an event in Edinburgh, John Swinney said: “It’s a warning to us that climate change is with us and the ferocity (of it).”.
Addressing the power cuts, he said: “The scale of the challenge has been colossal, utterly colossal.”. He added: “Although there are 7,897 people off supply, the number that have been reconnected is in excess of 180,000 since Friday evening.”. Mr Swinney said: “I have been engaged with the resilience community and the power companies all weekend and I’m satisfied that there has been a huge mobilisation of resource to try to address this issue.”.
He said the situation is now is more “diffuse” than over the weekend, with those without power living in more rural areas. The First Minister also spoke about the ongoing impact on rail services and said: “If you look at the rail map of what lines are still affected, you can see west-central Scotland is severely, badly affected because of the ferocity of the storms.”.
