Tens of thousands of homes in Britain left without power after Storm Floris

Tens of thousands of homes were left without power after Storm Floris hit the northern part of the British Isles on Monday. Most repairs are expected to be completed this evening. Some train services also remain disrupted, the BBC reported.

British energy company SSEN, which managed to restore power to 50,000 customers overnight, said that 22,000 homes were still without power this morning. The problems are concentrated in Scotland, which was worst hit. Most of the damage was caused by fallen trees. A company representative also told the BBC that most repairs would be completed this evening, although some cases requiring more complex work would take until Wednesday or Thursday.

In Ireland, energy companies restored power to most of the 10,000 affected homes and businesses overnight, according to local media.

The storm also disrupted rail services. Network Rail said it had caused more than 100 incidents on lines in northern Britain. Travel restrictions continued in Scotland today, mainly because of track inspections, repairs and the removal of fallen trees.

The wind gusts accompanying the storm reached almost 150 kilometres per hour. In addition to disrupting power supplies and rail services, the storm affected road, sea and air transport, as well as cultural events. The Edinburgh Fringe, for example, announced that it had cancelled 110 performances.

The amber warning for strong winds, which covered much of Scotland, expired at 23:00 local time on Monday (0:00 CEST). It is the second-highest level of warning issued by the British weather service, the Met Office. Forecasters said unusual weather for this time of year would continue in northern Britain. Their forecast for Wednesday and Thursday warns of continued strong winds and further rain.