storms leave thousands without power in UK

[tropicana]

New Year Storms Leave Thousands Without Power

By PA News Reporters
Thu Jan 1st 2004


Power companies were Thursday battling to restore supplies to homes cut off by the New Year storms which also controversially wiped out the Hogmanay celebrations in Edinburgh.

New Year parties in Aberdeen, Newcastle and Liverpool were heavily disrupted by atrocious weather which struck large areas of the north, bringing up to a foot of snow in some places.

In London, however, about 100,000 people saw in 2004 with a spectacular fireworks display at the London Eye, and later in the day large crowds turned out to see the 18th New Year’s Day Parade pass through the capital from Parliament Square to Piccadilly.

Officials in Edinburgh defended their decision to pull the plug on their world-famous New Year’s Eve celebrations, which were expected to attract 100,000 revellers.

Events, including spectacular fireworks and a pop concert, were cancelled late in the evening as gales and rain swept the city.

It was the first time the events had been cancelled in 11 years.

Lesley Hinds, the city’s Lord Provost, said: “The paramount concern in all our minds was to ensure the safety of all the revellers.

“Reluctantly, this meant that some very difficult decisions had to be made.

“I hope that people understand the reasons behind our decisions and had a good night anyway.”

Activities and events planned for today around the city were going ahead without any problems, organisers said.

The New Year’s Eve decision was taken by all agencies involved, including Lothian and Borders Police, the City of Edinburgh Council, Unique Events, safety advisers and the main sponsors, The Royal Bank of Scotland.

Ian Dickinson, Assistant Chief Constable, Lothian and Borders Police, said: “Reluctantly a joint decision was taken to cancel Edinburgh’s Hogmanay Royal Bank Street Party. Public safety was the driving force behind all decisions taken.

“Firstly, structural damage to the stage and water in the electrical systems made the Ross Bandstand unsafe.

“This meant it was necessary to cancel the Concert in the Gardens.

“Secondly, we also had to consider the safety of the wider event. Very high winds were gusting to dangerous levels.

“Structural damage had occurred to buildings and temporary structures. Four stewards had suffered minor injures.”

Many punters were disgruntled that the party had been axed at such a late stage.

Latini Stefano, 42, from Rome, said: “I came to Hogmanay because I know it is a big thing in Scotland, and Edinburgh is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe.

“I didn’t expect this, and I’m very disappointed.

“I can’t understand why it was not possible to see beforehand how the rain could affect the event.”

Homes in the north of England and Scotland were affected by power cuts.

In LANCASHIRE, more than 600 homes were left without electricity after snow brought down power lines.

The cuts affected Gisburn and surrounding villages in the east of the county.

Engineers had difficulty reaching parts of the area because of the snowfall but said supplies were being restored later.

Homes in the NORTH and NORTH-EAST of England also suffered power failures caused by the weather.

A spokeswoman for CE Electric UK, which owns two power distribution companies covering the North-East, Yorkshire, and north Lincolnshire, said engineers were working to restore power.

She said 43,000 customers had been affected by the power failures in an area stretching from the Scottish borders through the North-East to North Yorkshire. By 2pm today, 8,000 remained without power.

In Yorkshire and north Lincolnshire, 7,500 homes were affected and by this afternoon 6,500 of these remained without power, she said.

In SCOTLAND, engineers were trying to restore power to several thousand households.

Between 8,000 and 10,000 homes in the Borders, Central Scotland, Tayside, Fife and Highland areas were affected by high winds and snow.

By this afternoon Scottish Hydro-Electric said electricity had been returned to 3,000 of 4,000 homes which had suffered power cuts.

Extra teams of engineers were drafted in to help clear the backlog.

Teams were still working to bring power to around 1,000 homes in the Tayside area.

The snow reached as far south as Norfolk. Some of the heaviest fell at Fylingdales in North Yorkshire where a foot of snow was recorded.

PA WeatherCentre forecaster Michael Dukes said tonight: “It’s been a damp thaw day. Temperatures have been typically 5C (41F) to 9C (48F) across the UK, rising to 11C (52F) in Jersey.

“The risk now is of black ice on any untreated roads tonight when temperatures fall to zero.”

The outlook for the next few days is unsettled but with snow only on the hills, not widespread as on New Year’s Eve.

-justin-