STORM ALI’S KILLER PUNCH
Two killed as violent 102mph gales lash country Thousands of Scots families are left without power Roads chaos as trains, planes and ferries cancelled
Storm Ali left a trail of destruction in its wake yesterday as it battered Scotland with hurricane-force winds.
Two people died as 102mph gusts crippled the country’s transport network, and left tens of thousands of homes without power and a cruise ship adrift in the Firth of Clyde. People were injured by flying debris during a ‘major incident’ in the south of Scotland, a nursery school had to be evacuated after its roof was damaged and major roads were closed by fallen trees.
In Ireland, the storm claimed the lives of two people as a caravan was blown off a cliff in Galway and a tree fell on a man near the village of Meigh, in County Armagh.
A woman in her 50s was inside the caravan, which was picked up by the winds at a campsite at Claddaghduff.
The man who died is understood to have been carrying out contract work for Northern Ireland Water at the Slieve Gullion Forest Park.
During a day that saw Scotland hit by its highest wind speeds since
Cyclone Friedhelm swept across the country in 2011:
Rail services across much of central Scotland were suspended;
More than 60,000 homes were left without power;
Roads were closed and people were injured by falling trees and masonry;
500 cruise ship passengers were stranded in Greenock, Renfrewshire, after weather broke their ship’s mooring lines.
The storm caused a ‘major incident’ to be declared as 8,000 homes were left without power and several people were injured by debris.
In Newton Stewart, Wigtownshire, part of the town centre was locked down as debris and parts of chimneys and cladding fell into the street.
Dozens of workmen were called in to try to clear roads because of the fallen trees and branches.
Several people sustained minor injuries in Dumfries after being hit by flying debris as streets in the town were closed off because of falling branches and masonry.
In Dalbeattie, Kirkcudbrightshire, children had to be evacuated from the Birchvale Nursery when the roof was damaged.
Firefighters also had to be brought in when the gale hit the town’s former British Legion premises and part of the roof came loose.
A Dumfries and Galloway Council spokesman said: ‘A number of people have already been injured by flying debris and a number of streets and roads are closed due to power cables down.’
Children in the area were told not to walk home from school until the weather subsided.
In Fife, a bus carrying footballers from Dundee University was hit by a falling tree as it arrived in St Andrews.
The players and driver escaped serious injury but the front of the bus was seriously damaged.
Last night, student Andrew
‘A miracle no one was badly hurt’
McCourt told of his lucky escape. The 18-year-old, from Glasgow, who is studying business management, said: ‘There was a massive bang and there was glass everywhere. Our window came in and the first thing I noticed was that there was blood on my hand.
‘I heard someone shouting, “Is everyone OK?” I felt wet at the back of my head and felt that it was bleeding. The paramedics were there quickly it seemed and I was treated for a cut on the back of my head. They simply glued it up and bandaged it.
‘It was a miracle no one was badly hurt. It seems I took the brunt of it but everything is fine.’
Despite everything, Mr McCourt decided that he was not going to miss his debut for the team.
He added: ‘I didn’t play the whole game but I went on for about 40 minutes. Unfortunately, after all that, we were beaten 2-0.’
ScottishPower (SP) said 60,000 homes had been affected by power cuts caused by Storm Ali.
A spokesman said 40,000 homes had been reconnected by yesterday evening but added that engineers were struggling to repair some power lines due to the extreme conditions.
He said: ‘SP Energy Networks has experienced considerable damage to its network, with Storm Ali producing wind gusts in the region of 80mph in central and southern Scotland.’
He added: ‘Currently, around 20,000 homes are without power, with faults spread across the network.
‘The biggest issue affecting the electricity network has been uprooted trees and other debris blown on to overhead power lines.
‘Working conditions have been very difficult across the day due to high wind speeds and strong gusts and our engineers are having to contend with fallen trees and blocked roads to reach faults.’
Winds of 102mph were recorded on the Tay Bridge, which was closed to traffic along with the Clackmannanshire Bridge, Kincardine Bridge and Forth Road Bridge.
High-sided vehicles were also banned from crossing the £1.9billion Queensferry Crossing and Skye Bridge.
Other roads including the A75 near Dumfries, the A77 at Cairnryan, the A74 at Ecclefechan and the A83 were closed due to the volume of branches and debris.
The A76 was also shut due to a ‘substantial’ fallen tree blocking the road.
A section of single-track road on Skye was washed away. The damage to Moll Road, south of Sconser, happened on Monday night before the storm struck.
Two 100ft trees were uprooted on the ‘Orry’ public parkland at Eaglesham, Renfrewshire. The branches of another tree narrowly missed vehicles in the car park of the Eglinton Arms Hotel in the village. Police urged motorists to be on alert for debris in the road. Road policing inspector Neil Morrison said: ‘I would urge all motorists to drive carefully and with caution, especially on country roads where potential hazards could be around corners.
‘Reduce your speed and leave plenty of space between you and the vehicle in front.’
In the north of England, the M6 was closed northbound between junctions 43 and 44 after a lorry was blown over.
West Coast ferry services were severely disrupted by the winds, as
‘More needs to be done to prepare’
Argyll Ferries called off its Gourock-Dunoon service.
CalMac Services were suspended for the entire day from Tobermory, Ardrossan, Barra, Oban, Tarbert, Gigha, Harris, Iona, Lewis, North Uist and Mallaig.
Rail commuters were also left stranded as all services were cancelled from Edinburgh Waverley, Glasgow Queen Street and Glasgow Central high level.
In the Highlands, Network Rail engineers battled to clear the line near Culloden after a freight train was derailed when it hit branches on the line. The derailment initially meant that no trains were running between Perth and Inverness.
A Network Rail spokesman said: ‘Work is continuing to reopen the line and reintroduce train services as soon as possible.’
Loganair also cancelled flights from Glasgow and Edinburgh to destinations in Ireland, Hebridean islands and London.
Scottish Transport Secretary Michael Matheson yesterday chaired a resilience meeting before joining transport officials in South Queensferry near Edinburgh. Scottish Labour’s transport spokesman Colin Smyth said: ‘No one can help the weather and the safety of passengers and staff should always be the top priority.
‘But given Scotland’s climate – and the regular occurrence of severe weather over winter – it is becoming increasingly clear that more needs to be done to fully prepare our transport network for poor conditions.’
Bosses closed Edinburgh Castle to visitors as it could not guarantee their safety. Historic Environment Scotland also closed attractions such as Lochleven Castle, Kisimul Castle, Cardoness Castle, Iona Abbey, Huntly Castle and Inchmahowe Priory for safety reasons.
Met Office Chief Meteorologist Laura Paterson warned that the UK faces another potential battering today. She said: ‘Through Thursday, another area of low pressure will develop and approach the UK from the south-west, bringing rain and a second spell of strong winds later on.’
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency had three amber alerts in place for coastal flooding in Argyll and Bute, Ayrshire and Arran and Dumfries and Galloway.