‘Concerns for vulnerable people’ after enduring second night without power
Communities on Shetland are concerned for vulnerable people on the islands after freezing snowstorms left thousands bracing to enter a fourth day without power.
The concerns were raised as the Scottish Government declared a major incident for Shetland when thousands of homes were left without power on Monday evening following significant snowfall.
The Reverend Fran Henderson, a minister on Shetland, told The Scotsman that many households face further days without any heating during the “Arctic” cold snap.
The Rev Henderson, who is based in Scalloway on the west coast of the main island, said many people had been stranded in the snow for hours after traffic ground to a halt on Monday.
“The conditions are quite grim for a lot of people,” she said. “Scalloway has electricity but many areas currently don' t. it depends where you are, but many of the more modern houses just don't have any other means of heating. The more remote places may have generators, but not in the major settlements. We're very reliant on electricity.
“One of my colleagues is trapped in her manse with no heating and no way of even making a hot drink. There were stories of people taking five-and-a-half hours to travel a half-hour journey on monday, with traffic ending up stuck on the roads."
Extra crews of engineers arrived by ferry yesterday to help with repairs. Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) Distribution is working to reconnect around 2,800 homes, but warned some may be without power until the end of the week.
The outage has disrupted everyday life on the islands. The Rev Henderson said: “Funerals and things like that are difficult to do. We've already cancelled some Christmas services and the schools are all closed, which is difficult as these are safe spaces where kids can normally get a hot meal.
"We were told that things should be resolved by the end of the week, but that could be Thursday, Friday or Saturday, we just don't know. They seem to be pulling out all the stops to get things running again. They've gathered up engineers from Orkney and Aberdeen.
“We really are worried about our vulnerable folk, but Shetlandis super the way people are looking after each other. Some elderly folk have no heating but people are reaching them. Some are cooking hot soup and taking it up to neighboursi just hope and pray that we'll all come through this and everyone will be safe and well.”
Emma Macdonald, leader of Shetland Islands Council, said: “We have so many lines down and people could be without electricity until the end of the week … we are a resilient communityandareoftencutoffduringthewinteriftheferrydoesn’t run. We do all pull together.”
SSEN Distribution said 15 power line crews arrived on the first ferry from the mainland yesterday and more were leaving for the islands throughout the day – with 125 additional engineers in total due to support local teams. The firm's Mark Macdonald said: “Now that it’s safe to fly, we’re organising helicopter patrols to fly our overhead lines and assess the extent of the damage, which will help us better target our restoration strategy.”