Coastal communities told to remain vigilant for floods as wind warnings lifted

People living in coastal areas have been urged to remain vigilant to flooding as wind warnings for the rest of the country were lifted. Ministers held a meeting of the Scottish Government’s Resilience Room (SGoRR) on Tuesday amid ongoing disruption due to severe weather warnings. The Scottish Government is urging those in coastal areas to remain vigilant as a yellow risk of flooding is still in place on Tuesday and through to Wednesday in northern parts of mainland Scotland and the Northern Isles.

The latest yellow wind warning expired earlier than planned on Tuesday, at 6pm rather than 9pm, covering northern areas of the country. Sandbags outside shop doorways in Largs after Storm Boelo passed (Jane Barlow/PA) PA Wire SGoRR was chaired by Justice Secretary Neil Gray and attended by Deputy First Minister Jenny Gilruth; Social Justice and Housing Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville; Economy , Tourism and Transport Secretary Stephen Flynn and Community Safety Minister Kirsten Oswald.

Mr Gray said: “Whilst the worst of the conditions are due to ease, the recovery effort continues and the Scottish Government, alongside our local resilience partners, will continue to support businesses and communities who have been impacted by flooding and power outages. “I would also urge coastal communities to continue to listen to updates from the Met Office and Sepa (Scottish Environment Protection Agency) as the risk of flooding is still in place until Wednesday.

“SGoRR will continue to monitor the situation overnight and respond where appropriate.” A police van blocks the road near Skelmorlie in North Ayrshire after Storm Boelo (Jane Barlow/PA) PA Wire All schools in the Western Isles shut their doors on Tuesday due to the high winds forecast while, in the Highlands, 30 primary schools and six secondary schools were closed due to weather-related issues, as are eight in Aberdeenshire. In North Ayrshire, the search for a person thought to have been swept into the sea at Largs by large waves was suspended after nobody was found.

The Coastguard said a helicopter and aeroplane went to the scene, along with RNLI lifeboats from Largs and Troon and coastguard rescue teams, when the alarm was raised at about 12.20am on Tuesday, as did police and the fire service. The coastguard said that following an “extensive search”, nobody was found and searches were suspended at about 9am, pending new information. Signs at the Ferry terminal at Wemyss Bay, North Ayrshire (Jane Barlow/PA) PA Wire Police Scotland said: “A search-and-rescue operation was launched but the person remains missing.”

The Met Office said that a gust of 76mph was recorded at Stornoway Airport on Tuesday and one of 71mph on Tiree. On the railways, speed restrictions were in place on some routes in the north and west of Scotland on Tuesday. Network Rail Scotland said restrictions are in place on the west Highland line (including to Oban and Mallaig), far north line, Highland main line (Blair Atholl – Dalwhinnie), Inverness – Kyle of Lochalsh, and Aberdeen – Inverness routes.

In the west, they are in force on the Girvan – Stranraer, Kilwinning – Largs and Dalreoch – Helensburgh Central routes. On Tuesday morning, ScotRail said train services between Edinburgh and Dundee would be delayed or revised due to high winds on the Tay Bridge. In Ayrshire, services between Kilwinning and Largs/Ardrossan were suspended late morning due to high waves near the railway line between Stevenston and Saltcoats but later resumed once the situation improved.

Some ferry services were also disrupted due to the weather while, on the roads, the northbound onslip onto the A9 at Stockbridge, Dunblane, was shut due to a fallen tree but later reopened. Two men were killed by falling trees on Sunday: a man in his 20s in Finchley, north London; and Richard Baines, 60, in Dumfries and Galloway. Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney on Monday expressed his condolences for the two men. Mr Baines, a curator at Logan Botanic Garden, a regional garden of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, died while walking near his home during the storm.

David Knott, director of horticulture at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, said Mr Baines was an “enthusiastic plantsman” and would be “deeply missed by many”. Two women were also taken to hospital after they were hit by a falling tree in Aberfeldy, Perth and Kinross. On Tuesday, a separate yellow wind warning for western areas of England and parts of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, expired at 3am. As of 9.30am on Tuesday, Sepa had 13 flood alerts and 39 flood warnings in place while the Environment Agency in England had issued five flood warnings that flooding is expected and 41 alerts that flooding is possible.

Natural Resources Wales had two flood warnings and eight flood alerts in place. The Energy Networks Association said that, as of 8am on Tuesday, 829,400 customers around the UK had been reconnected following storms Austen and Boelo while 7,800 customers were without power. Provisional Met Office data shows Storm Austen brought a maximum gust of 69 knots (about 79mph) to the Isle of Wight, while Storm Boelo saw wind speeds in some exposed areas reach the low 80s mph.

Heavy rain was also a feature of both storms, with Abbey St Bathans in Berwickshire recording 77.6 mm of rain during Storm Austen, while 134.4 mm was recorded in Ross and Cromarty during Storm Boelo. High pressure will bring lighter winds and drier weather across much of the UK on Wednesday evening and Thursday, though western areas may remain breezy and experience a few light showers. Fog could become an increasing hazard as Halloween approaches.

Greg Dewhurst, senior operational meteorologist at the Met Office, told the Press Association: “Most will have a day of sunny spells and blustery showers on Tuesday, showers heaviest and most frequent in the north. “Thereafter for the week ahead we see a change in the weather. High pressure will build from the south over the coming days, so generally settling down but potentially bringing some overnight fog at times. “This high pressure looks set to remain over the UK for the weekend too.

So, most places dry, though perhaps some patchy rain in the north at times.”