Night without power for homes hit by Storm Otto

Thousands of radical successful bluish Scotland spent a nighttime without powerfulness successful the aftermath of Storm Otto.

Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) said its engineers reconnected much than 41,000 customers but astatine 10:00 connected Saturday astir 2,500 were inactive without supply.

It expects to reconstruct powerfulness to astir radical passim the day, without everyone reconnected by Sunday evening.

Mobile nutrient vans are serving blistery nutrient and drinks successful the main affected areas.

The powerfulness cuts are chiefly concentrated successful Aberdeenshire and see parts of Oyne, Banff, Methlick, Insch, Turriff, Belhelvie, Kennethmont, Gartly, Wardhouse, Huntly, Ellon, Glemuick, Fyvie and surrounding areas.

Storm Otto, the archetypal named tempest of the season, was marked by precocious winds which brought down trees and damaged a fig of vehicles and buildings.

Wind speeds successful excess of 80mph were recorded successful a fig of places portion astatine Cairngorm upland the gusts reached 120mph.

Trains, buses and ferry services were delayed oregon cancelled, with trees blocking galore routes successful Aberdeenshire.

SSEN Distribution said it had brought successful other workers to woody with the powerfulness cuts and a full of 750 unit were responding to the effects of the storm

Mark Rough, operations manager astatine SSEN Distribution, said determination was wide harm to the energy network.

"Our teams person made further advancement precocious past nighttime and aboriginal this greeting restoring the remaining customers inactive disconnected proviso pursuing the impacts of Storm Otto.

"Having present assessed the bulk of those faults that are inactive to beryllium repaired, we are assured the bulk of customers impacted volition beryllium restored contiguous and expect everyone inactive disconnected proviso to beryllium restored by time evening astatine the latest.

"We proceed to enactment intimately with our resilience partners to enactment our customers arsenic required, peculiarly those connected our precedence services register, and would promote anyone who whitethorn request further enactment to interaction our dedicated teams connected the powerfulness chopped helpline, 105."

A Met Office yellowish informing for snowfall and crystal successful unit for immoderate parts of Scotland, chiefly connected higher routes successful the north, expired astatine 09:00 connected Saturday.

Kenny McKenzie, told BBC Scotland that a histrion was blown down extracurricular his location successful Mintlaw, Aberdeenshire and helium mislaid powerfulness astatine 07:45 connected Friday.

"With nary word, nary internet, nary mobile phone, everything stopped working," helium said.

"One of our neighbours has a state cooker truthful she came circular with a flask truthful that we could person our coffee, which was large archetypal happening successful the morning.

"Hopefully we're going down to Fraserburgh due to the fact that the power's connected determination truthful we'll hold and spot if there's a bus, seemingly the buses person stopped arsenic good though cipher seems to know."

Any lawsuit who has been disconnected proviso for longer than 12 hours is entitled to assertion up to £30 for food, per day. Customers are advised to support receipts.

More than 100 schools successful Aberdeenshire were closed connected Friday, with astir 50 successful Highland and a fistful successful Moray besides affected.

Angus Council said the Burnside Primary School gathering was not harmless for children and staff, aft the extortion was earnestly damaged.

Children from P1-7 volition beryllium provided with distant learning from 22 February erstwhile the schoolhouse returns from the mid-term break.

North East Scotland College successful Aberdeen besides closed pursuing harm to the extortion of its metropolis campus.

BBC Scotland Weather said gusts of 83mph had been recorded successful Inverbervie, Aberdeenshire, and 80mph successful Lossiemouth, Moray, and astatine Tain successful the Highlands.

The tempest was named Otto by the Danish Met Office. The UK Met Office has adopted the aforesaid name.

It is the archetypal named tempest to deed the UK since Franklin past February.

The Met Office's play for named storms runs from September to September, and the names are fixed to rise consciousness of terrible weather.