Operations teams are working around the clock to return power and water supplies to homes across Perth and Kinross after it was battered by two storms over the weekend.
Storm Malik left thousands in Tayside without power on Saturday before the even stronger Storm Corrie struck eastern Scotland with gusts of 92mph the following day.
An amber wind warning had already been issued for most of Tayside ahead of the weekend with the Met Office saying the weather presented a “danger to life”.
As a result of the turbulent winds trees across the region were torn from their roots and blown onto roads, endangering drivers and causing chaos on busier routes.
In one incident on Sunday evening a collapsed tree caused major disruption on the A90 eastbound between Errol and Inchture.
Calum Rennie captured the clip on Sunday night.
In a post on Facebook, Calum warned locals: “Anyone travelling between Errol and Inchture from Perth to Dundee eastbound, a tree has fallen on the dual carriageway and currently Grid lock.
He later updated: “Traffic moving slowly and no one was injured.”
The tree was then cleared.
The A93 north of Blairgowrie was closed in various locations due to fallen trees on Monday morning.
ScotRail train services in Perth and Kinross also ceased services earlier on Sunday evening as a safety precaution against Storm Corrie.
Domestic rail services wound down between 6pm and midnight, with a limited number of cross-border and freight services able to run on some lines, but at reduced speed.
The strength of the winds was expected to “damage infrastructure, blowing debris and trees onto tracks and damaging equipment such as overhead electric power lines and signals”.
Network Rail deployed additional engineers out across the network ready to react to problems and check all affected lines for damage before reintroducing services.
Meanwhile the aftermath also saw hundreds in the region go without power.
Residents in the Glenshee area suffering a blackout were, however, able to get a hot meal from a food van provided by SSEN on Monday night.
The truck was set up at Glenshee Parish Church between 5-5.30pm and provided an evening meal and breakfast for Tuesday.
Around 100 homes in Glenshee remained without power on Monday night.
Perth-based Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) said it is “making good progress” as its teams continue to respond to the significant damage from the storms.
In its latest update at noon on Tuesday (February 1), power has been restored to 105,000 customers nationally with around 9500 customers remaining off supply.
The main areas which continue to be affected are rural Aberdeenshire and the Angus border, with some customers also off supply in Perthshire, the Highlands, Western Isles and the Moray Coast.
SSEN expects to restore power to the vast majority of customers by Tuesday evening, prioritising areas of the network where customers have been without power the longest.
For small pockets of customers, this may extend into Wednesday – depending on the extent of damage found and the impact of weather on our teams’ ability to work safely.
Customers are being notified proactively as estimated restoration times for their specific fault are updated, with calls to be made to those likely to be without supply overnight, where possible.
For customers without power who need support and are unable to make alternative arrangements to stay with family or a friend, SSEN will reimburse reasonable costs for alternative accommodation.
Speaking on February 1, director of distribution system operations at SSEN Richard Gough said: “Our teams have continued to make strong progress restoring power to customers impacted by Storms Malik and Corrie and all available resources have been deployed to support with restoration efforts.
“Although the cumulative impact of Storms Malik and Corrie has compounded the challenge, we have started our final push and aim to restore power to the vast majority of customers today.
“For the pockets of customers that will remain without supply into Wednesday, we are prioritising welfare and support, working closely with local resilience partners.
“We would like to apologise to all customers affected and would like to encourage any customer concerned to give our dedicated teams a call on 105, where we can provide additional support and guidance.”
The Met Office also issued a yellow weather warning due to forecasted wind gusts of up to 65mph across the north and north east of Scotland valid from 6am on Tuesday until 6pm.
Scottish Water said it is gradually “returning to normal operation” following the restoration of water supplies that were affected by the impact of Storms Malik and Corrie.
A fleet of 17 road tankers has been operating around the clock in recent days to maintain supplies to customers and support the recovery of water networks which had been disrupted following the loss of mains power to multiple Scottish Water sites, with the greatest impacts in localised areas of the rural north-east and Tayside.
At the peak of the publicly-owned water company’s response, 70 generators were in use to provide temporary power to sites that provide drinking water for over one million customers.
Scottish Water is continuing to liaise with SSEN about the restoration of mains power at a small number of rural pumping stations.
