Man killed by falling tree as Storm Boelo continues to cause disruption

A man was killed by a falling tree during Storm Boelo as disruption to power and travel across the country continues.

The storm brought severe disruption across the weekend with 80mph wind gusts, widespread travel cancellations and flooding across the country.

Police confirmed that a man was killed by a falling tree in in Dumfries and Galloway.

The 60-year-old was not in a vehicle when he was hit on a minor road at about 10.30am on Sunday.

He was pronounced dead at the scene and a Police Scotland spokesperson said: “There are no suspicious circumstances and a report will be submitted to the procurator fiscal in due course.”

Another two women were injured by another falling tree in Aberfeldy, Perth and Kinross.

Workers are now still trying to restore power to homes cut off during Storm Boelo.

The storm, which saw yellow and amber weather warnings for wind brought into force across Scotland, led to power outages across the nation.

In their final updates on Sunday evening, the Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) said at around 7pm that 38,000 customers were still without power, having restored electricity to around 54,000, and SP Energy Networks (SPEN) said at 7.45pm that around 4,500 were still without power.

Emergency services were called to a flooded care home in Sidney Street, Saltcoats, North Ayrshire, on Sunday evening.

Police Scotland said everyone at the care home was accounted for and that local road closures were in place.

Officers were expected to remain on site overnight to assist.

Businesses in Largs were left grappling with extensive water damage after floodwater swept through the town.

The town’s Main Street was deluged overnight as the second named storm of the season swept through Scotland, bringing winds of more than 80mph and heavy rain.

There are no further weather warnings for Scotland on Monday, though a yellow warning for wind comes into force from 3am on Tuesday, ending just before midnight the same day.

Storm Boelo brought 80mph gusts and travel disruption to much of Scotland over the weekend, shortly after Storm Austen brought heavy rain to many areas on Friday.

The Scottish Government’s Resilience Room (SGORR) met on Sunday to discus the fallout from the storm.

Social Justice and Housing Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said on Sunday: “As we experience a third consecutive day of weather warnings with continued strong winds forecast until later today, it is important that people keep up to date on the impact the conditions are having in their local area.

“Disruption to travel is likely to continue into tomorrow and I strongly recommend people check official sources such as the Met Office, Traffic Scotland, transport operators and local authority channels before setting out.

“While we expect some respite from the adverse weather during the day on Monday, there is a possibility of more severe weather conditions early on in the week and we urge everyone to continue to follow advice and heed any warnings.

“If anyone is isolated or needs help or assistance, they should not hesitate to seek help from the appropriate authorities.

“We continue to monitor the situation and work closely with partners to respond quickly and try to mitigate the effects of Storm Boelo as far as possible.”

Network Rail said the vast majority of our services are running on Monday morning. The West Highland line and Inverness to Thurso/Wick line remain impacted.

It said teams have cleared up felled trees and debris from tracks, and have repaired overhead lines and flooding that had disrupted the network.

Work was expected to continue throughout Sunday evening and overnight.

Mark Ilderton, ScotRail service delivery director, said: “Thanks to the tireless efforts of Scotland’s Railway’s engineers and staff, the vast majority of routes impacted by Storm Boelo will be open on Monday, with services running from the start of service across much of the country.

“The scale of the operation is significant, with teams working around the clock to clear fallen trees, repair damaged overhead power lines and other railway infrastructure and carry out essential safety inspections.

“While good progress is being made, there are still a small number of routes where work will continue into Monday morning. We’re working closely with Network Rail to get these reopened as quickly as possible, but our priority remains the safety of our customers and staff, and trains will only resume when it is safe to do so.

“We’re grateful to customers for their continued patience and understanding and would encourage everyone to check their journey on the ScotRail app or website before travelling for the latest information.”

Some roads and bridges dotted around Scotland remain closed, according to Traffic Scotland’s website.

Amey, om behalf of Transport Scotland, said the A78 Shore Road between Skelmorlie and Largs in North Ayrshire is closed for repairs due to damage it sustained from the storm.

The road closed on Sunday morning after the storm left sever cracking and displaced the surface.

It said more tests would be done on Sunday to determine the extend of the damage. A diversion was in place.

A spokesperson for Amey said: “Our priority is the safety of road users, and the road will stay closed until our engineers have been able to inspect the full extent of the damage and confirm it is safe.

“We will share a further update once we have a clearer picture of the repairs needed and how long they are likely to take.

“We will issue updates via our website – www.swtrunkroads.scot – social media channels @SWtrunkroads and free Roadwork Alerts service.

“We appreciate how disruptive this closure is to the communities of Largs, Skelmorlie and Wemyss Bay, and we are grateful for the patience and understanding of residents and road users for their patience while we undertake an urgent repair.”

As of 10pm on Sunday night 23 of CalMac’s 30 ferry services were still facing disruption and cancellations.

Several rail lines in western and northern Scotland also closed as a result of the strong wind and heavy rain warnings across the country.

Services south and west of Kilwinning in North Ayrshire stopped from 9pm on Saturday while further north the Oban and Mallaig lines closed from about 10pm.

Early on Monday, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) had 11 regional flood alerts and 10 local flood warnings in place across parts of the country.

The agency said there was a risk of surface water, river and coastal flooding across many parts of Scotland at the weekend.

Flooding also hit parts of Scotland’s west coast on Sunday, with Largs businesses flooded, and similar situations in other towns in the same area, such as Saltcoats.

Western Ferries, which operates services across the Firth of Clyde, announced its service would resume on Monday.

The operator advised passengers: “As always, please check the latest sailing status on our website before travelling.”