The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
MSP wants response to major storms improved
The Scottish Government is facing fresh demands to draw up a plan that would protect rural communities from the devastation caused by extreme weather events.
A series of major storms – Arwen, Barra, Malik and Corrie – battered Scotland last winter, with winds reaching up to 90mph.
They left thousands of people without power, water or phone signals and also, tragically, led to loss of life.
Tory MSP Tess White is taking the call to Holyrood in the hope that communities are “protected” this winter.
The region was among the worst-hit by the storms.
Angus Council is still totting up the cost of the winter storms, while Perthshire was badly hit by wild weather too.
Aberdeenshire Council faces a repair bill of more than £900,000 to fix storm damage.
Conservative MSP for the North East region Ms White wants the Scottish Government to provide a delivery plan for its Storm Arwen review with clear timescales for implementation ahead of winter.
In Holyrood today she will highlight the need to improve communication on the ground, as well as information identifying vulnerable people who need help and support in an emergency.
“These major storms had a shattering effect on communities across Scotland,” she said ahead of the parliamentary debate.
“The north-east in particular experienced profound and prolonged hardship. Following Malik and Corrie, the storm damage was so severe that Edzell was completely cut off by fallen trees.
“In Fettercairn, sheltered housing complex Queen Elizabeth Court was without power for three nights.
“In Stonehaven, residents did not know where to go to access much-needed support.
“The scale of human endeavour to help the stranded and hungry will stay with us in the northeast for a long time, as will the haunting images of the devastation in places like Kemnay, Fettercairn and Edzell, where forests were all but flattened.”
The Conservative MSP is due to add that “more should have been done to build resilience and protect communities”.
The Scottish Government published a review into how the country responded to the “exceptional” Storm Arwen earlier this year.
It recommended wideranging changes to the way Resilience Partnerships – which include councils, police and health boards – operate in response to such incidents.
The 15 recommendations include improving how those most at risk are found and supported, better use of volunteers and community support, and more accurate communication by energy companies.
Others include practising mass door-knocking in areas affected by power outrages in future to ensure the welfare of affected people.
A further update is due to be provided by the Scottish Government next month.
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “The learning and improvement process from Storm Arwen and other recent severe storms is under way, following our review published earlier this year.
“The Scottish Government and responder organisations have been working hard on many of the review’s recommendations since its publication, and we are confident that we will be able to demonstrate meaningful progress on these in our update report next month.
“Our existing public information campaign, Ready Scotland, is evolving in light of this review to ensure that households and communities are as well supported in their preparations for these types of emergencies as possible.”