Organisations across Scotland have put in place a series of measures to protect communities from the effects of severe weather ahead of winter.
It follows a review of the Storm Arwen response published in January 2022, which set out 15 recommendations for the Scottish Government and its partners.
A report published today updates on progress since then, with a range of improvements put in place ahead of winter. These include:
A full winter readiness exercise carried out by emergency responders across every area in Scotland by the end of November
A new online learning and training hub to help individuals, community groups and the voluntary sector to prepare, respond and recover from emergencies
The development of a new process to monitor and evaluate Scotland’s resilience system annually to identify and resolve issues quickly and effectively
Increased integration and engagement with the voluntary sector, and expansion of local directories of assets and capabilities to support resilience activity
Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Veterans, Keith Brown, said: “The Scottish Government committed to a full review of the circumstances of Storm Arwen, and this report demonstrates clearly the range of work that is underway to ensure that lessons are learned.
“Our responder community, including our blue light services and our local authorities, will put these recommendations in place and we will support them to ensure our resilience arrangements continue to strengthen to protect communities.”
Chair of the Scottish Resilience Partnership Jim Savege said: “Responders have worked hard through the year, reviewing the risks we need to be prepared for, planning and exercising and making sure we are as prepared as we all can be for any future events and incidents we may have to respond to.
“More than ever, emergency services have considered wider risks that may be realised, and the growing reality of having to deal with concurrent risks and incidents.
“Significant additional work has been invested this year into working with voluntary organisations and communities to ensure their resilience and their ability to deal with incidents has been enhanced. Community and business resilience are the bedrock upon which emergency services work and respond.
“The SRP is grateful for all of the work that so many colleagues have invested in ensuring we are as prepared as we can be for the winter ahead.”
A range of changes are to be put in place to strengthen national resilience and protect lives, homes and infrastructure from the impacts of future severe weather events.
A review of the preparations for and response to Storm Arwen sets out 15 recommendations for the Scottish Government and its partners, the Scottish Resilience Partnership, local resilience partnerships, utility companies, the voluntary sector and national responders.
Key recommendations include improved processes for identifying and assisting those most at risk, and bringing the voluntary and community sector into the heart of local resilience planning and response arrangements. This will involve maximising access to a suitable volunteer pool during future events of a similar nature.
The government will track progress against the recommendations and provide a further update this June.
Deputy First Minister John Swinney said: “Following the widespread disruption and devastation caused by Storm Arwen, I committed to a full review of the preparations and response to ensure that we take all the learning from this exceptional storm.
“We already have strong and robust arrangements in place to manage and address weather-related resilience issues at national, regional and local levels, but I want to ensure that our arrangements continue to evolve and strengthen for the future, which is what this review will help deliver.
“The experience of Storm Arwen underlined the vital role of volunteers and community groups in ensuring the welfare of those around them. That is why we intend to bring the voluntary and community sector into the heart of local resilience planning to ensure they are fully integrated into arrangements for the future.
“In addition, we will improve processes to help us identify those people who are most at risk, in order to direct and provide help as quickly as possible.
“We recognise the urgent need to prepare for increased severe weather as a consequence of the climate emergency, and to ensure arrangements in relation to our energy supply are as robust as possible as we transition towards net zero.”
Chair of the Scottish Resilience Partnership Jim Savege said: “Storm Arwen was a particularly severe weather event that required a significant response from emergency responders, utility companies and communities over an extended period of time.
“I would want to recognise and thank all of those involved in the response for their efforts in helping ensure communities across affected areas were supported and helped where needed.
“As with every incident there is always learning and improvement to be had – the report sets out a range of areas where we can continue to strengthen our resilience as a country in preparation for any future events.”
At the end of November, registered charity HorseBack UK was hit hard by Storm Arwen. Dozens of trees came down around the county pulling powerlines with them, leaving the charity without power, light, heat, hot water, or phone connection for six days.
Founders Emma and Jock Hutchison were cast back into the pre-electric age, in a freezing house, with a herd of thirty-three horses to look after.
Fortunately, the Hutchisons are pretty tough. One was a Royal Marine and the other served in the police force. They tend not to complain. But even Emma, usually one of the most stoical people you could meet, said that her sense of humour was wearing pretty thin.
Storm Arwen could not have come at a worse time. After 18months of pandemic and not being able to deliver the work the charity is known for, it was just getting back on its feet.
Emma, Jock and the team had re-started delivering their life changing courses to veterans and vulnerable young people, especially those suffering with mental health challenges – many of whom had had a particularly tough lockdown.
A huge amount of work had been done on logistics and installing strict safety protocols and, of course, course sizes had been reduced, limiting the number of people the team could work with and help.
However, there was light at the end of the tunnel and the entire team, including the 33 horses were back to doing what they love. Until Storm Arwen roared in and stopped the charity in its tracks once again.
Not only did it pull down power lines it also damaged buildings and in particular field shelters for the horses. With winter here it is imperative the horses have shelter from the cold, wet winds of northern Scotland.
Co-founder Emma Hutchison explained: “After a tough 18 months we were thoroughly enjoying getting back to work, so to be thwarted again really tested our resilience. The storm has done a lot of damage and we desperately need to repair or replace the field shelters for the horses.
“The herd is pretty tough and can cope with quite a lot but the relentless rain and wind we get can wear them down and have a negative impact on their health. And when it snows, they really do need a place to shelter.
“These horses are part of our family and we are pulling out all the stops to get them the shelter they need as fast as possible. We desperately need donations to help pay for the materials to build and repair the shelters.”
The arrival of Arwen has also shown Emma that storms can take many forms, and that contingencies need to be put in place.
Emma added: “We realised we need to build a Storm Fund, to keep us going when the unexpected strikes. We get no government or council funding, so we are completely reliant on donations. It is the generosity of the public which enables us to do our work.
“If we could gather a new fund, it would help us to do additional practical things, like build new field shelters for the horses to protect them against wind and weather, and invest in a generator to keep the lights on. But it would also act as a bulwark against unheralded events, like pandemics or shifts in the economy.
“We want to make sure that Horseback UK can rely on the sturdiest foundations. Whatever the literal or metaphorical weather, we need to be able to go on helping veterans with life-changing injuries, as well as the young people we work with in the local community. We want to ensure that our future is stable, however unstable the external world can sometimes seem. And that is our next, dedicated mission.”
To find out more about Horseback UK and to donate to support their work and the rebuilding of the field shelters visit:
A total of 134 personnel from across the services have been deployed to the Grampian region to check on vulnerable people in their homes and to conduct door-to-door checks on over 4,000 homes.
The military will also provide welfare and humanitarian support for remote communities and are on standby to deliver further support and vital supplies if needed.
Teams of 10 will deploy to remote communities across the region who have been impacted by the loss of power and water following the storm.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: “We are always ready to provide extra support to civil authorities across the UK in their time of need and it’s great to see units based in Scotland supporting their local communities.
“Our dedicated Armed Forces will conduct door-to-door checks on people in their homes, providing essential support to those impacted by Storm Arwen.”
Scottish Secretary Alister Jack said: “Once again our fantastic British Armed Forces have stepped up to support communities in times of need.
“As well as having been front and centre of the COVID-19 recovery efforts, I’m very pleased they are also able to help those in the Grampian region suffering disruption caused by Storm Arwen.
“We are incredibly fortunate in the UK in having such committed, skilled and willing military personnel to support us in such challenging times.”
There are thousands of military personnel on standby to support resilience tasks across the UK including the response to the coronavirus. There are over 300 personnel currently supporting health boards in Scotland with the vaccine rollout and the Scottish Ambulance Service.
Locations who will benefit from military assistance include Aboyne, Alford, Banchory, Banff, Ellon, Fraserburgh, Huntly, Inverurie, Peterhead, Stonehaven, Turriff and Westhill.
This support has been provided through a Military Aid to the Civilian Authorities request which is the official process for MOD to provide assistance to other government departments and civil authorities for responding to emergencies, maintaining supplies and essential services during a crisis.
Those deployed come from units based in Scotland including 39 Engineer Regiment, 3 Scots and 45 Commando. Some of the marines from 45 Commando have recently returned from cold weather training.
The Ministry of Defence is also engaged with a number of local authorities in northern England who have been affected by Storm Arwen to identify where it would be appropriate to support.
Over the past five days, emergency teams have been working tirelessly to restore power in affected areas. Around 1 million people have been affected in total and power has now been restored to 98% of those affected.
Multi-agency response to Storm Arwen continues
The multi-agency response to return power to communities across the North East of Scotland is ongoing.
The Aberdeenshire Council assistance centre remains open, between 8am and 8pm, to provide help to residents. They are contactable on 0808 1963 384 and information about rest and welfare centres is also available on their website.
Chief Superintendent George Macdonald said: “The damage caused by Storm Arwen has been unprecedented and has required significant repairs to be undertaken across the power, water and communications networks.
“The Strategic Local Resilience Partnership has met almost 20 times since last Friday, in preparation for and in response to the weather. The partnership involves local authorities, health and social care partnerships, emergency services, Maritime and Coastguard Agency, NHS, Scottish & Southern Electricity Networks, Scottish Water, SEPA, Forestry and Land Scotland, British Red Cross, and other local voluntary organisations. Together we are all committed to providing ongoing support to those affected by the power outage.
“Rest centres, which have been in place since the weekend, remain in place in a number of locations where SSEN advise full power has yet to return. There has been a significant humanitarian effort in response to the storm, with volunteers from across the partnership carrying out welfare checks on those without power, including more than 1,800 people who were identified as potentially vulnerable.”
Chief Superintendent Macdonald continued: “We recognise that this has been a very challenging time for everyone who has been without power and water for a long time. Due to the ongoing challenges and uncertainty around when supplies will be fully restored, which has added to the complexity of the response, the partnership has deemed it proportionate and necessary to seek additional humanitarian support from the military and we are grateful for their assistance.
“The scale of damage and difficult weather conditions have added to the challenges of restoring power, however there is an absolute commitment from all agencies to do this as quickly as possible and to continue providing support as we work towards a return to normality.”
Chief Superintendent Macdonald has also praised the community support and effort that has been seen since the storm hit the North East. He said: “The sense of community spirit has been fantastic to see and there has been numerous examples of kindness and selflessness in the face of real difficulties.
“Members of the public, businesses and volunteers have come together in true North East style, including helping my officers during the storm by providing additional torches, cut back or move fallen trees and branches and other examples of basic support, kindness and practical assistance which I know has been really appreciated and made officers jobs so much easier. Thank you.”
Deputy First Minister John Swinney has chaired a meeting of the Scottish Government’s Resilience Room (SGoRR) on the continuing impacts of Storm Arwen and has been briefed that the recovery is going to be greater and more challenging than first anticipated.
Last night’s update focused on the scale and severity of the adverse weather which will see a number of homes across the country remain without power overnight and continuing telecommunication and water issues.
Significant efforts are ongoing to restore power as soon as possible and welfare support is being concentrated on the people and households who are most vulnerable and have the greatest need.
Mr Swinney said: “The scale of the damage caused by Storm Arwen is worse than we first feared and as a result our recovery will take longer than anticipated.
“We know this will create significant challenges for communities and households still affected by the storm’s impacts and I want to reassure them we are doing everything we can, liaising with local resilience partnerships, to focus efforts and resources.
“We have been working closely and at pace with power companies who are maximising efforts to restore services to households currently without power.
“Plans are being put in place for further assistance to respond to the longer than expected recovery and we are concentrating getting power restored for vulnerable people and those who need it most.
“In extremely challenging circumstances we have seen an outstanding response from local resilience partnerships who have been providing vital support to local residents and I would like to thank them for their continuing efforts.”
Over the twenty-four-hour period from 7am on Friday, November 26, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service received more than 900 emergency calls – almost three times the normal number – with more than 500 of these being due to the impact of the severe weather associated with Storm Arwen affecting many areas of the country.
During this same period of time, firefighters were mobilised to more than 500 incidents, many of which were related to high winds, with areas in the North and East of Scotland being worst affected.
Between 3pm and midnight on Friday, November 26 the Service’s Operations Control rooms in Dundee and Edinburgh received more than 500 weather related emergency calls, which included calls for assistance to make damaged buildings safe and road traffic collisions.
The impact of the weather was also felt by the Service, with damage to the roof of Altens Community Fire Station in Aberdeen.
On duty firefighters and appliances were deployed to neighbouring stations to ensure fire cover for the area was maintained. In addition, a fire appliance from Galashiels in the Borders was struck by falling trees during the storm while attending an incident and the firefighters were removed to safety with no injuries recorded.
John Dickie is an Assistant Chief Officer in the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. He said: “This has been an exceptional weather event and a challenging night where we received a high number of weather related calls.
“We have seen high numbers of emergency calls from the Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Moray, Fife, East Lothian and Scottish Borders areas where many buildings were damaged by the high winds – resulting in a significant localised response.
“Firefighters also attended a number of other incidents including road traffic collisions and fires.
“My thanks must go to our firefighters and Operations Control staff for their outstanding work overnight in very challenging conditions, and to our partners for their continued assistance.”
