Storm Amy SOS alert from Easter Ross village of Inver as authorities urged to ‘step up’
UPDATE: Power restored in Inver as Storm Amy restoration work continues
AN Easter Ross councillor is calling for greater efforts to be made reaching out to vulnerable people left without electricity since Storm Amy hit on Friday evening.
Tain and Easter Ross councillor Laura Dundas has thrown the spotlight on the village of Inver which she says has been particularly hard hit.
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She said: “Storm Amy left a trail of destruction across the Highlands this weekend, causing widespread power outages that affected thousands of homes.
“While many properties have now been reconnected, the village of Inver remains without electricity, and there is still no confirmed timeline for restoration.
“Community spirit has been at its best with residents rallying round offering warmth, food, and comfort.
“From the offer of an open static caravan, makeshift hub for residents to use the gas stove to come and heat up food and make a cup of tea, to Cllr (Maureen) Ross arriving with soup and filled rolls to the Inver village hall and Paul Connelly’s tireless efforts checking in on the vulnerable, it’s a testament to resilience and compassion.
“These actions are to be admired but shouldn’t be the only option. As the power cut drags on, its time for authorities and SSE to step up.
“This evening, new reports revealed that the extent of the damage is significantly worse than initially assessed.”
She cited local concerns that SSEN had not been seen in the village until Monday afternoon. SSEN has been asked for comment.
Councillor Dundas went on: “Inver is home to a number of registered priority individuals, including elderly residents and people with disabilities.
“It is critical that these vulnerable members of our community are prioritised during the recovery efforts.
“I urge authorities and SSEN to ensure that emergency provisions are in place and accessible to all residents of Inver.
“The community is resilient, but immediate action is needed to support.”
As of the time of writing, SSEN’s Powertrack app showed continued powercuts with 168 customers affected in 14 IV20 postcodes.
Customers still off supply are being told of extensive damage from Storm Amy’s “extremely damaging winds” but assured that more engineering teams arrived today from across the country “to further reinforce our massive power restoraton operation”.
Improving weather, it says, helped more repair work proceed but “there is however a large amount of damage across our network and this is why you see a longer restoation time than you were expecting”.
It notes that while easing weather conditions will help speed up work, some access routes remain blocked by fallen trees and storm debris, hindering access to some damaged parts of the network.
SSEN flags reimbursement of costs for food and drink, and also for hotels where power has been off for more than 48 hours.
You can find out more at ssen.co.uk/stormsupport
Call handlers are also available to help anyone needing extra support via the number 105.
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