Resilience Room meets to discuss impacts on goods and services
The Scottish Government’s Resilience Room (SGoRR) met last night (Tuesday 31st March) to consider the impact of the conflict in the Middle East on Scotland’s people and businesses.
The meeting included discussion on the potential impacts on the supply and price of various goods and services, including energy, food and fuel.
It was chaired by First Minister John Swinney and attended by the Deputy First Minister, the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy, the Cabinet Secretary for Justice & Home Affairs, the Cabinet Secretary for Health & Social Care, the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, the Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government, the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands and the Minister for Parliamentary Business and Veterans.
The First Minister said: “The impact of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East on people and businesses in Scotland is becoming more significant by the day.
“As concerns continue to grow across our communities and sectors, I convened SGoRR to assess the situation in detail and to consider what further engagement, support, or actions may be required from the Scottish Government, our partners and others in the days and weeks ahead.”
The Scottish Government’s Resilience Room (SGoRR) met again yesterday as agencies continue to deal with the impact of sustained cold and wintry weather across much of northern Scotland and other parts of the country.
The Met Office has issued a number of weather warnings covering much of Scotland, including an Amber warning for snow in parts of central and north-east Scotland – valid from 3 am to 2 pm on Sunday – with a complex mix of snow, heavy rain, strong winds and possibly freezing rain due to mark an end to the cold spell in place since the start of the year.
Several Yellow rain warnings have been issued for western, northern Scotland and southwest Scotland, highlighting some risks of flooding, including in those areas further north where rainfall combines with snow melt. Wind will also become a factor, with a wind Yellow warning in place for much of the country for most of Sunday. SEPA has also issuing regional flood alerts.
The forecast conditions are expected to impact both road and rail networks, with the potential for challenging driving conditions and route closures, as well as delays and service cancellations.
More widely, there is a possibility of power cuts and a potential risk to life and property. People and communities should consider travel plans and take action to minimise these risks. There is a high risk of disruption in particular in snow amber areas and drivers are advised to follow police advice on the conditions.
The Cabinet Secretary for Justice & Home Affairs Angela Constance chaired the latest SGoRR meeting, attended by the First Minister as well as agencies including the Met Office, SEPA, police, local authorities, resilience partnerships, transport and utilities companies.
Ms Constance said: “At today’s SGoRR meeting the Met Office advised partners how we are facing a complicated multi-hazard event, affecting various parts of the country in different ways and at different times over Sunday and into Monday.It involves various combinations of continued snowfall, milder conditions leading to snowmelt, and with heavy rain in some areas leading to a flooding risk from Sunday afternoon.
“Given that complexity I was reassured to hear how partners remain stood up and are working tirelessly across the weekend to continue supporting communities and to respond as the conditions and the nature of the hazards change.
“I am grateful for the work of partners, from frontline responders and agencies to contractors, voluntary groups and individuals who have worked so hard to respond to the impacts of this prolonged period of heavy snowfall and other wintry weather.
“The sustained nature of this weather event, and the different elements of it, are clearly very challenging for communities and responders alike, given the difficulties already caused by the weather since the start of the year.
“As ever, I would encourage people to follow the advice for their local area provided by key agencies, online and on social media, including from the Met Office, SEPA and Police Scotland and to plan ahead for the coming days.”
Follow Traffic Scotland for the most up-to-date information on the trunk roads throughout the warning periods, via their website, social media channels and radio broadcasts. Updates on ScotRail services and road conditions are available online.
To report a power cut or damage to electricity power lines or substations call the SP Networks national Freephone number 105. More information on what to do during a storm can also be found on SP Energy Website.
The Scottish Government’s Resilience Room (SGoRR) met again last night to co-ordinate the response to Storm Éowyn.
First Minister John Swinney chaired the meeting and has asked people to continue to follow Police Scotland advice and avoid travel in areas covered by the amber weather warning, which ran to 2300 in the southern half of Scotland and 0600 in the northern half.
Current impacts include:
Around 106,000 properties without power
Continuing transport disruption with road closures and rail, bus, flight and ferry cancellations
First Minister John Swinney said last night: “Storm Éowyn continues to cause significant impacts on transport and power networks. Amber warnings for wind remain in place for much of the country, while there are warnings for wind, snow and ice tonight and tomorrow.
“Across the area covered by the red warning road usage has been about 85% less than normal, and that is thanks to so many people heeding the advice not to travel.
“Police advice remains to avoid travel in areas covered by amber warnings, with wind particularly challenging for HGVs, and given the level of fallen trees and debris it will take some time for roads to fully reopen.
“Similarly, rail and air travel has been heavily impacted and people should check their planned journeys before setting off. This will not be a quick return to normal.
“Power cuts are affecting a significant number of properties, and while utilities companies are working hard to reconnect supply in the face of challenging conditions, this will undoubtedly take some time to complete. Companies are focused on supporting their most vulnerable customers and I’d urge everyone to be patient, take extra care and look out for each other.
“Given the levels of damage I expect the recovery and clear up operation will take some time, and I thank all of the emergency services and workers who are supporting people and dealing with this difficult situation.”
SGoRR was attended by the Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes, Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop, Justice and Home Affairs Secretary Angela Constance, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care Neil Gray; Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth, Rural Affairs and Islands Secretary Mairi Gougeon, Acting Net Zero and Energy Secretary Gillian Martin and Agriculture Minister Jim Fairlie.
They were joined by representatives from the Met Office, Police Scotland, Transport Scotland, SEPA, transport and utilities companies and resilience partners.
The latest Met Office weather warnings are available on the Met Office website.
Flood alerts are issued by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency and can be viewed on their website.
Follow Traffic Scotland for the most up-to-date information on the trunk roads throughout the warning periods, via their website, social media channels and radio broadcasts. Updates on ScotRail services and road conditions are available online.
To report a power cut or damage to electricity power lines or substations call the SP Networks national Freephone number 105. More information on what to do during a storm can also be found on SP Energy Website.
During a power cut firefighters can be called to fires started by candles or portable heaters. For advice on how to stay safe during a power cut visit Scottish Fire and Rescue Website.
A meeting of the Scottish Government’s Resilience Room (SGoRR) – chaired by Justice Secretary and Minister for Resilience Angela Constance and attended by a number of Ministers – was held last night to ensure appropriate measures are in place to deal with the impacts of Storm Gerrit.
Met Office yellow warnings for rain, wind and snow were live until midnight across much of Scotland last night and a warning for wind and snow remained in place across Shetland until 06:00am today (Thursday 28 December).
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) have also issued a number of flood alerts and warnings across the country.
Some train services and ferry services were cancelled and a major incident was declared by Police Scotland on the A9 at Dalnaspidal, which is now fully reopened between Inverness and Perth.
Winter weather response plans are in full effect with teams working hard across the transport network to restore services and routes as far as possible – with improvements in weather conditions anticipated today.
The storm has also left some homes across Scotland without power and Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) are working to restore power where it is safe to do so.
Ms Constance said:“Following a combination of rain, wind and snow across the country, I have chaired a meeting of SGoRR to ensure that we’re acting as quickly and safely as possible to mitigate the impacts of Storm Gerrit.
“We know that there are areas across the country where people are without power and SSEN are working to restore this where they can. Due to the strong winds, flooding and snow, it is not always safe for SSEN to access areas for repair. Local resilience partnerships are working to put in place welfare support for individuals who may be without power overnight.
“There have already been a number of disruptions across the transport network. It’s good to see that the incident on the A9 has been cleared and the road has now reopened but people should pass with care.
“Some roads remain closed with operatives working to reopen them as quickly as possible.
“Some railway lines will remain closed tomorrow (Thursday) morning as they require safety inspections within daylight hours. People should be mindful that there will still be areas where surface water continues to cause disruption – so we would urge everyone to plan their journeys in advance, exercise caution on the roads by driving appropriately to the conditions, and follow the latest travel advice at traffic.gov.scot.
“The Scottish Government’s resilience committee will continue to monitor the situation overnight and into Thursday, and keep Ministers fully updated.
“Advice and information for the public is available at Ready.Scot and the Scottish Government will continue to work with all relevant agencies to closely monitor the storm and its impacts and ensure support is provided to those affected.”
Joanne Maguire Scotrail’s Chief Operating Officer said:“ScotRail and Network Rail teams have been working flat out to keep people moving where possible, but we have faced extreme conditions in different parts of the country which has resulted in significant disruption. The safety of our staff and passengers is our top priority.
“We will be working overnight and early in the morning to inspect the railway and restore services, but disruption is expected to continue into Thursday. Our advice to passengers is to check before travelling via the ScotRail website or app.”
