The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Arwen army on their way to fix power
The military were deployed yesterday in the fight to restore power and water supplies to more than 3,000 homes still cut off by the effects of Storm Arwen.
Lieutenant Colonel Katy Badham-Thornhill of Kinlossbased 39 Engineer Regiment, said: “With the power outage our main priority is to ensure that all the residents in Aberdeenshire have been contacted with vulnerable people being prioritised.”
One rural couple, Carolyn and George Maniukiewicz, told of how difficult it has been to keep themselves and their livestock healthy after being without power on their farm near Fyvie for nearly a week.
Mrs Maniukiewicz said: “Nobody has had a proper wash, you can’t peel potatoes, you can’t do anything because you’ve got nothing to cook on anyway, you can’t flush the toilets. It’s like the Dark Ages.
“I don’t think anyone has a realisation of how terrible it is.”
Meanwhile the driver killed as his pick-up truck was struck by a falling tree on Friday on the B977 Dyce to Hatton of Fintray Road was yesterday named as 35-year-old David Lapage.
Hundreds of armed forces personnel are being deployed across the north-east to support those hit by Storm Arwen.
With around 3,100 homes still without power or running water, army engineers will be assisting SSEN staff with repairs.
Head of Aberdeenshire Council Jim Savege said: “The scale of the event that we are trying to deal with here is unprecedented.
“The absolute bedrock of support has come from community members rolling up their sleeves and checking in on those who need help – we can’t thank people enough along with the police, fire, Red Cross and the council.”
With cellular service being knocked out in some areas, it has been difficult for assistance teams to liaise with Aberdeenshire Council.
SSEN engineers initially estimated power would be fully restored by the end of last weekend.
However, as circumstances have changed, so too has the repair timeline – prompting Aberdeenshire Council to reach out for military support.
Mr Savege added: “We came to a decision on Tuesday that we needed to get more volunteer support – until then we had been happy we were supporting the most vulnerable people who were registered with us.
“But we have had a concern about those people who have done OK but the ever-extending timescale of this is just making things harder for them.”
As time goes on, council bosses will continually assess if more resources can be dedicated to clearing up the devastation left behind by the storm.
Support from the military will involve teams of soldiers knocking on doors and taking on wellbeing concerns, while staff from 39 engineer regiment out of Kinloss will help with repairs.
Lieutenant Colonel Katy Badham-Thornhill said: “Last night we received approval to give military assistance to Aberdeenshire Council.
“Our task is to work with the very fluid and changing situation on the ground. With the power outage, our main priority is to ensure that all the residents in Aberdeenshire have been contacted, with vulnerable people being prioritised.”
Wintry weather added to the problems yesterday with a number of schools forced to close after a night of snow and ongoing storm consequences.
Even a gritter fell foul of the conditions, ending up in a ditch on the A920 Colpy-Oldmeldrum road, near Drum of Wartle.
An Aberdeenshire Council spokeswoman said: “We can confirm a minor accident did occur today on the A920 just outside Oldmeldrum for one of our winter gritter vehicles.
“Some minor damage to the vehicle occurred and it was taken to the council’s local fleet workshop for minor repairs.”
Meanwhile, motorists faced delays in the early morning after two crashes on the A90.
Ellon Road, between the Parkway and Murcar roundabouts, was closed after a lorry crashed into a lamppost near the Esso garage. Further south, the Aberdeen-Dundee road was shut near Stonehaven after a car and lorry collided.