Scotland Storms Could Cost Economy £100m

Scotland's hurricane force winds may cost the economy up to £100m.

Business experts say that early closures, blocked roads, power outages and workers staying at home caused a massive drop in both revenue and productivity.

Meanwhile, 29,000 homes are still without electricity, down from more than 100,000 at its peak, after winds of up to 165mph battered the country on Thursday.

Some residents have been warned it could be Sunday before their power is eventually restored because engineers are being hampered by blizzards and ice.

The worst-hit areas are the west of Scotland (16,000) and Tayside (10,000),
although around 12,000 are also without power in the Highlands, the North East,
Orkney and Shetland.

More than 1,000 engineers have been working across the country to get power back to customers.

Following a meeting of the Scottish Government Resilience Committee, Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: "Contractors are working hard to resolve remaining issues with power supplies and on our transport network in difficult conditions."

But while the winds have eased off, the Met Office has issued warnings for snow, blizzards and ice across Orkney, Shetland, the Highlands and Grampian.

Severe weather in Orkney has caused widespread damage and flooding. The B9047
South Walls road on Hoy island is closed at the causeway.

On Friday, all schools in Orkney, Caithness and the north coast of Sutherland in the Highlands were closed.

Fourteen schools were shut in Aberdeenshire and some schools in Angus, Argyll
and Bute, Shetland, Stirling and the Western Isles had power failures.

The British Red Cross said its volunteers were on stand-by to provide food, clothes and medical supplies to people in cut-off areas.

The Scottish Government said there had been 110 incidents on Scotland's roads, including fallen trees and power lines, the recovery of seven HGVs and 24 cases of flooding.