Storm Boelo clean-up begins as thousands left without power

A clean-up operation is under way in parts of the UK after Storm Boelo caused caused flooding and property damage, leaving thousands without power.

The Energy Networks Association (ENA) said around 90,000 properties are still without power as of Monday.

Two men were killed by falling trees during the storm on Sunday – a man in his 20s in north London and another in Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland.

Boelo is the second storm to have hit parts of the UK in recent days, following Storm Austen which brought similar levels of disruption, while strong winds and rain are forecast to continue on Monday.

Leo Slade, CEO of the ENA said it had been “a tough weekend” and that efforts to reconnect some properties were being hampered by the weather, with sustained winds of 50-85mph across parts of Scotland and northern England.

“Until that weather system passes, we can’t safely get engineers out to replace poles, to get wires back up, so today is going to be a hive of activity in getting engineers out into the field,” Slade told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He stressed that the UK’s power network was very resilient money was spent to prepare for these sorts of scenarios, but said a debate was needed over how much more investment was required to mitigate for further storms brought by climate change.

Homeowners and local businesses are among those who have been affected by the power cuts caused by Storm Boelo.

Marcus Reed, the operations director at home fragrance manufacturer Wax Lyrical, said his factory and shop in Lindal, Cumbria would be without power until Tuesday evening.

He told the Today programme that he has had to turn away employees and customers.

“To lose two days manufacturing and distribution is going to be really disruptive,” he said, adding that it was bad timing as it was “the busiest time of the year” for his business in the lead-up to Christmas.

“This is probably the worst situation I’ve experienced in my time here; we’ve had ad hoc issues over weekends where we’ve lost power, but it’s been contained within a 12-hour period. It’s the first time anything like this has happened, it’s very serious.”

On Sunday, a man in his 20s was pronounced dead in north London after the car he was driving was hit by a falling tree. It came hours after a 60-year-old man in Dumfries and Galloway, in western Scotland.

Disruption to travel continued on Monday, and some schools in Scotland have been shut as a result of the storm.

Five primary schools in Aberdeenshire were closed on Monday due to a lack of power while Ellon Academy was also shut as a result of damage caused by the storm.