:00:29. > :00:32.Good evening. Welcome to you on a wintry night to this special
:00:32. > :00:36.programme, looking at the extraordinary weather events this
:00:36. > :00:45.week. It began like any other Tuesday morning in January and then
:00:45. > :00:48.this happened... Winds of over 100 mph blasted
:00:48. > :00:53.across the country. Many are only now beginning to count the cost of
:00:53. > :00:57.the most violent storms in the generation. We are live in some of
:00:57. > :01:03.the worst-hit communities. I am on the Isle of Bute, where
:01:03. > :01:06.they have been without power for most of the week and Alan Sperrin
:01:06. > :01:10.has kept them going. -- Ireland spirit.
:01:10. > :01:15.And I will be assessing the damage at this farm.
:01:15. > :01:20.We will be asking what can we do, how are we Cobbing, what is the
:01:20. > :01:24.plan and whether we should expect extreme weather to become the norm?
:01:24. > :01:31.And I will have the meteorology behind a storm and when there was
:01:31. > :01:37.such a sting in its tail. Many Davos are still counting the
:01:37. > :01:47.cost of a storm which was shocking in its force and power. -- many of
:01:47. > :01:59.
:01:59. > :02:09.The first storm of 2012. We were warned. The Met Office have issued
:02:09. > :02:19.
:02:19. > :02:25.an amber warning for wind. But not By the time they Met Office had
:02:25. > :02:31.issued a red alert, Glasgow and the West were being battered and
:02:31. > :02:41.bruised by the worst storms for 15 years. For some, getting into work
:02:41. > :02:43.
:02:43. > :02:53.was almost farcical. For many, Tuesday it was no laughing matter.
:02:53. > :03:12.
:03:12. > :03:18.This was my pride and joy, my retirement project. I want to get
:03:18. > :03:27.it out before the roof collapses. And there were millions of pounds
:03:27. > :03:34.worth of damage. We haven't been able to use the front door. A stone
:03:34. > :03:41.is balanced on the edge of the roof. It is pretty scary having to be
:03:41. > :03:51.evacuated from your home. The wind has blown really high and the next
:03:51. > :04:00.
:04:00. > :04:08.thing, the bricks came down. Miraculously, few people were hurt.
:04:08. > :04:14.Five were injured in the afternoon. -- in Dunoon. We were called in the
:04:14. > :04:18.morning. There were multiple casualties. High winds had
:04:18. > :04:23.overturned several caravans. meant a mission for this rescue
:04:23. > :04:29.helicopter, based hundreds of miles away, in Stornoway. It was quite
:04:29. > :04:34.bumpy. The initial transit took about one hour 15 minutes, but it
:04:34. > :04:41.was two hours on the way back. Large parts of the country were
:04:41. > :04:45.left with no electricity. At the worst point, 100,000 were cut off.
:04:45. > :04:52.This has been the worst winter I have seen in my career in Scottish
:04:52. > :05:02.Power, I have been with the company 15 years. Many endured a long wait
:05:02. > :05:05.
:05:05. > :05:10.to be reconnected. We just have to cuddle up for the day! We heard a
:05:10. > :05:14.bang at about 8:15am. Insurance companies are still working out for
:05:14. > :05:20.the Bill of repairs, it is certain to come to tens of millions. Four
:05:20. > :05:28.builders, there is a lot of extra work. Today, I have received about
:05:28. > :05:34.250 calls, ranging from slipped tiles to severe damage. If anything,
:05:34. > :05:37.this is the defining image of the week, seen first on BBC Scotland.
:05:37. > :05:42.One of the police officers at the scene described it as looking like
:05:42. > :05:51.something from a film. If you look across the road, it is miraculous
:05:51. > :05:56.that nobody has been injured. Cladding from the roof of a tower
:05:56. > :06:01.block hit the front of this House. Scotland is still counting the cost
:06:01. > :06:04.of the storms and the damage will take weeks to repair.
:06:04. > :06:10.Standby for the technical stuff with the man in the know.
:06:10. > :06:18.Christopher, what happened? The day before, we can see the
:06:18. > :06:24.storm viewing in the Atlantic. -- brewing. Atlantic air ran into
:06:24. > :06:29.Arctic air. We knew it was coming and there was an amber warning.
:06:29. > :06:34.From Monday into Tuesday, we can follow the track of the storm. It
:06:34. > :06:44.rapidly deepens. This is what meteorologists would call an
:06:44. > :06:45.
:06:45. > :06:54.It is very difficult to forecast but what this could provide was 100
:06:54. > :06:59.mph wind at surface level. This is a satellite image. There was a red
:07:00. > :07:05.warning in place at this time. You can see the tape of the cloud, this
:07:05. > :07:11.is this doing jet, where it originated. There is a lot of snow
:07:11. > :07:15.within the cloud and as the ice crystals evaporate, the jet goes
:07:15. > :07:20.through the layers and becomes denser and faster as it heads
:07:20. > :07:26.towards the ground. It comes out like a bullet from a gun, in pulses.
:07:26. > :07:36.Sometimes, you can hear the roar of the jet before you feel the effect.
:07:36. > :07:40.
:07:40. > :07:44.This affected the central belt and The Isle of Bute bore the brunt of
:07:44. > :07:52.much of the storm fall-out. The whole island was cut off and had no
:07:52. > :07:57.power for three days. The island is no stranger to
:07:57. > :08:01.getting a battering by the wind but look at his back garden. The shed
:08:01. > :08:05.has been turned on its roof and next door's chimney came down and
:08:05. > :08:13.luckily, landed in the back garden, missing his bed and breakfast by
:08:13. > :08:18.inches. How had he been getting on? It has been really tough and very
:08:18. > :08:23.dramatic. It has been unusual. Without power, you have a business
:08:23. > :08:30.to run and two children. It must have been difficult? It was
:08:30. > :08:36.difficult but for as, we had guests and no heating or light. I do not
:08:36. > :08:41.think we will come in a hurry -- people would, in a hurry without
:08:41. > :08:46.electricity. You were cut off. It must have been difficult, having no
:08:46. > :08:50.phone line? There was no access to broadband, no telephone. People
:08:50. > :08:56.were starting to wonder how long it would go on for. Rumours were that
:08:56. > :09:00.it would go on for a long time. have got light and electric, how
:09:00. > :09:10.does it feel to have it back? fears that great! We are sharing a
:09:10. > :09:14.lot more. I can tell you that Crees that have withstood 200 years have
:09:14. > :09:21.wind have been uprated. -- I can tell you that trees. Some people
:09:21. > :09:31.have had no telephone, no power, no heating, and that is what the
:09:31. > :09:31.
:09:31. > :09:39.island have been talking about. With me is Angela. What have people
:09:39. > :09:43.been talking about on mind? People have been pleased at how the
:09:43. > :09:47.community has come together. Shops have stayed open where they can,
:09:47. > :09:52.they have held vulnerable people. Care workers have surpassed
:09:52. > :09:57.themselves, as have neighbours and friends. It has put us in a good
:09:57. > :10:01.light. The only area of concern has been the lack of information. The
:10:01. > :10:07.local councillors did not seem to be readily available and there was
:10:07. > :10:13.not any public information. We were relying on word of mouth. We were
:10:13. > :10:18.very aware of what was going on. A public information., where you
:10:18. > :10:28.could at least access your local council workers, would have put
:10:28. > :10:28.
:10:28. > :10:33.people at ease. -- information point. There was a complaint that
:10:33. > :10:38.company policy has let the community Dereham. There have been
:10:38. > :10:42.lessons to learn. One of the things that has come out of this, when you
:10:42. > :10:50.hear stories of things being delivered to the care home, it has
:10:50. > :10:54.been amazing. It is even more amazing when you take the local
:10:54. > :11:00.council out of it. The Community achieved this by themselves. It has
:11:00. > :11:08.been fantastic. What do you do if you have your extended family in
:11:08. > :11:14.your house? You have no power, no telephone, nothing happening. You
:11:14. > :11:18.hide your entire family under one roof. What was it like? It was
:11:18. > :11:24.quite enjoyable. We were lucky enough to have a generator running
:11:24. > :11:31.the central heating. We had a goal fire -- coal fire and gas stove.
:11:31. > :11:39.Everybody came in. It was enjoyable. It was hard work because you were
:11:39. > :11:46.constantly washing. I do not know how people cope in the past. We had
:11:46. > :11:53.a nice family time. We had to sit and play games, it was lovely.
:11:53. > :11:56.I can tell is that they did run out of Jane! -- Jane. The parrot
:11:56. > :12:02.companies said they were not available to take part in the
:12:02. > :12:09.programme tonight but say they had ingenious out to try and get power
:12:09. > :12:13.back to the island. -- they had engineers.
:12:13. > :12:18.Our next guests were in the thick of it this week. Keith Brown is a
:12:18. > :12:23.Scottish Government minister and David system -- David Simpson is
:12:23. > :12:29.the managing director of Network Rail in Scotland. Are you satisfied
:12:29. > :12:34.with the responses are do you think lessons could be learned? There is
:12:34. > :12:40.no question lessons can be learned. We understand the disruption caused
:12:40. > :12:45.to people. This was an extreme event. We are grateful for the
:12:45. > :12:54.communities and the public, who responded so well to the situation.
:12:54. > :13:00.We have responded, whether it was power companies, real companies are
:13:00. > :13:06.road companies, making sure they were available to clear tracks or
:13:06. > :13:13.roads. You can always learn lessons and we will do that. What do you
:13:13. > :13:16.think is the most significant lesson for you? We were a huge
:13:16. > :13:24.recovery operation. There were thousands of trees on the railway
:13:24. > :13:31.line. There was even a travelling on the railway! -- from Pauline. We
:13:31. > :13:36.had chainsaw gangs and lots of recovery operations in Prius. -- in
:13:36. > :13:41.place. It was the biggest operation for a decade. People will wonder
:13:41. > :13:50.how much you can plan for something like this because you cannot be
:13:50. > :13:53.100% proved against the weather. How much have you budgeted? The way
:13:53. > :13:57.we planned for weather is critical to delivering the service to
:13:57. > :14:01.passengers and freight users on the railway. It is a huge part of our
:14:01. > :14:06.daily operation and something we learn from. We do need to make sure
:14:06. > :14:09.that we respond as well as possible to future events of this nature.
:14:09. > :14:14.When you look at what actually happened here, do you think that
:14:14. > :14:18.there is an argument for a better co-ordination, because of what
:14:18. > :14:23.people call the cascade failure effect? If there is flooding, the
:14:23. > :14:28.roads are blocked, the power goes down, the mobile-phone network is
:14:28. > :14:32.affected. Should we look at better co-ordination? There is a future
:14:32. > :14:35.level of court nation already. The government has people like David,
:14:35. > :14:39.the power companies and the train companies together in one place,
:14:39. > :14:42.along with ministers. That is very successful. Everyone is trying to
:14:42. > :14:47.communicate at the same time. The power companies try to communicate
:14:47. > :14:51.their issues, as will the others. Every time we have one of these
:14:51. > :14:56.events, let's not forget that in the last year, we have not just had
:14:56. > :15:02.last winter, there were high winds in May, high rain in August,
:15:02. > :15:09.volcanic ash, and each of these experiences should be a learning
:15:09. > :15:15.experience for us. What can be done for the areas which are worst
:15:15. > :15:19.affected, perhaps in terms of compensation? That will be between
:15:19. > :15:29.private companies and individuals. We want to make sure we have the
:15:29. > :15:29.
:15:29. > :15:37.transport networks open and that As we have already heard from beat,
:15:37. > :15:46.the clean-up operation is in ball swing, especially in some of hour
:15:46. > :15:52.more -- in some of our were more rural communities.
:15:52. > :15:57.As you can see at this farm, the barn doors literally blew in. There
:15:57. > :16:00.were thousands of pounds worth of damage. I was speaking to the NFU
:16:00. > :16:06.earlier run today and they say thousands of other farms are in the
:16:06. > :16:14.same position. They expect the total cost to run into tens of
:16:14. > :16:22.millions of pounds. Let us be to the owner Richard. What happened?
:16:22. > :16:27.The barn doors blew in. The roof then acted like a parachute. It
:16:27. > :16:36.lifted and slammed itself back down again, destroying the guttering and
:16:36. > :16:46.the masonry. It left the structure unsafe and many of the sheep's are
:16:46. > :16:48.
:16:48. > :16:57.cracked. -- sheets. What will the knock-on effect before you? There
:16:57. > :17:07.is the clearing up factor, which is man out was, but it takes time for
:17:07. > :17:08.
:17:08. > :17:16.that to happen because we are waiting for quotes to come in for
:17:16. > :17:21.the repairs. It is horrendous. insurance claim is in, so let us
:17:21. > :17:26.talk to a man who knows a thing or two about getting your claim in
:17:26. > :17:34.quick. You have had an unprecedented amount of claims for
:17:34. > :17:39.this time of year, haven't you? Thankfully, we were able to get
:17:39. > :17:47.someone out here on Wednesday. It was assessed on Friday. We have
:17:47. > :17:53.responded quickly and we are trying to get them back on their feet as
:17:53. > :17:57.quickly as possible. It is not just farmers picking up the pieces. What
:17:57. > :18:02.is your advice to people generally who think they might want to make
:18:02. > :18:07.an insurance claim? Speed your insurance company as soon as
:18:07. > :18:12.possible. Get someone to look at the damage and assess it. Get it
:18:12. > :18:18.sorted as soon as possible. The longer the property damage his left
:18:18. > :18:23.and repaired, the worst it could be and the more complicated it will be
:18:23. > :18:28.when it comes to making an insurance claim. There you go. Do
:18:28. > :18:35.not wait. Read the small print of your claim, and do something about
:18:35. > :18:40.it sooner rather than later. So was this week's stormed the
:18:40. > :18:48.worst in living memory? It depends on how old you were. Some of us
:18:48. > :18:51.remember the storm of 1968, which left two dozen people dead. David
:18:51. > :19:01.Mellor has been looking back at some of the wildest whether we have
:19:01. > :19:02.
:19:02. > :19:07.had to endure through the decades. -- David Miller.
:19:07. > :19:12.January 1968, a storm of extraordinary violence rips across
:19:12. > :19:19.central Scotland. The initial death toll of the 17 climbs and climbs
:19:19. > :19:27.again. Glasgow and the West are hit the hardest. The sound of the wind
:19:27. > :19:32.took over. It was really strong. Outside, of course, chimneys,
:19:32. > :19:38.everything was crashing around. view from this flat was changed for
:19:38. > :19:42.ever. A chimney stack crashed through the tenement building next
:19:42. > :19:52.door. Two brothers and their children were killed. Sadie's
:19:52. > :20:02.daughter had wanted to sleep there on the night of the storm. I told
:20:02. > :20:05.
:20:05. > :20:15.my daughter to leave her doll there. We never saw it all the little girl
:20:15. > :20:16.
:20:17. > :20:22.again. Winds of up to 90mph were funnelled over the hills. There was
:20:22. > :20:30.an intense amount of squeezing of when macro through the gap. Many
:20:30. > :20:33.people were left homeless and had to take refuge in the town hall.
:20:33. > :20:43.Families whose homes are badly damaged had been coming here for
:20:43. > :20:48.
:20:48. > :20:54.help. What happened to your house? The whole roof fell in. The chimney
:20:54. > :20:59.stack fell into the kitchen. storms of 1968 have never been in a
:20:59. > :21:09.forgotten, but the Scottish weather has often caused chaos in the
:21:09. > :21:10.
:21:10. > :21:20.decades since then. In Air Show, a woman was killed after her car was
:21:20. > :21:28.
:21:28. > :21:38.hit by a tree. The hurricane-force winds left a trail of destruction.
:21:38. > :21:43.
:21:43. > :21:48.In 1980 Nile -- in 1989, wind speeds of 142mph were recorded.
:21:48. > :21:55.Scotland's storms have often cost lives on the road. Some have had a
:21:55. > :21:59.lucky escape. A were wild weather comes at a financial cost as people
:22:00. > :22:05.living here discovered seven years ago. But as we count the cost of
:22:05. > :22:09.last week's storm, perhaps it is worth remembering the many victims
:22:09. > :22:14.of 1968 and reminding ourselves that the human cost this time
:22:14. > :22:17.around could easily have been much, much higher. The Chief Government
:22:17. > :22:24.Scientific Adviser for Scotland and Northern Ireland at the Met Office
:22:24. > :22:29.is Alex Hill and he's joined us in the studio. When we talk about
:22:29. > :22:33.extremes of weather, are the extremes becoming more extreme?
:22:33. > :22:43.turns of wind, probably not. We are getting patterns and these
:22:43. > :22:48.
:22:48. > :22:52.occasional storms. They are usually once in 30 or 50 year events. But
:22:52. > :23:02.we are seeing a lot more flooding W Steer and in has a greater impact
:23:02. > :23:02.
:23:02. > :23:07.than it used to. In terms of wind speed, not really. What we saw this
:23:07. > :23:17.week was relatively normal. predictable is this? They today it
:23:17. > :23:28.
:23:28. > :23:38.is not too bad. -- the day today is not bad. Have we need to look at
:23:38. > :23:43.
:23:43. > :23:49.locations. We need to give people time to take action. We have always
:23:49. > :23:53.made assumptions in the past that the coast would be worst affected,
:23:53. > :23:57.but recently the central belt has taken a real fashion. What has
:23:57. > :24:03.happened there? Because we are becoming dependent on things that
:24:03. > :24:13.can be impacted by the weather. So where all the people are his way
:24:13. > :24:16.
:24:16. > :24:25.you tend to find the biggest impact for what would not necessarily
:24:26. > :24:30.impact as badly elsewhere where the population is less. What do you
:24:30. > :24:34.think is the big one to watch out for? Is it flooding? Over the next
:24:34. > :24:39.few months, the amount of water that comes out of this guide will
:24:39. > :24:44.be the crucial thing. The ground is already sodden and we have seen the
:24:44. > :24:48.impact with land slippage. It looks to be the big problem. Heavily
:24:48. > :24:53.towards the end of the week things will dry up and we can take stock
:24:53. > :24:58.of what has been going on, but watch out for heavy rain in the
:24:58. > :25:07.short to medium term. And how much is the flooding issue factoring in
:25:07. > :25:17.to your planning? We always have someone on it and we get an update
:25:17. > :25:22.
:25:22. > :25:32.on the flood warnings. We are well aware of it. The -- We Never Take
:25:32. > :25:42.
:25:42. > :25:46.Our eye off the ball. -- we never take. Is flooding a priority for
:25:46. > :25:53.you when you look at the whole picture? Well, you cannot
:25:53. > :25:56.concentrate in one area. You have to be aware of all types of weather.
:25:56. > :26:01.If there is going to be more surface water, that would have a
:26:01. > :26:04.big impact on the railways and we need to remember if they are not
:26:04. > :26:14.working and the infrastructure is not there, it is not just the human
:26:14. > :26:22.
:26:22. > :26:30.side, it is the whole economy. much so. Planning to do with
:26:30. > :26:36.flooding is a priority for us. can't you do realistically? Is it
:26:36. > :26:39.the type of track you lay? It is about investing in the right
:26:39. > :26:49.drainage across the network that can cope with these heavy rain
:26:49. > :26:52.
:26:52. > :26:58.falls. Alex, are we getting more weather. -- weather? In general, we
:26:58. > :27:03.have always had lots of weather, but the impact is greater, our
:27:03. > :27:07.systems are a bit more vulnerable than they used to be. We are more
:27:07. > :27:14.reliant on having electricity and communications up and running 24
:27:14. > :27:22.hours a day, seven days a week. 50 years ago, it did not work like
:27:22. > :27:25.that and people were probably more patient than we are now.
:27:25. > :27:32.Fingers and everything else crossed that we are in for some less
:27:32. > :27:37.dramatic weather over the next week. Christopher is here again.
:27:37. > :27:41.As we go through next week, it is looking fairly benign. Generally
:27:41. > :27:46.mild with rain at times. Tomorrow morning, some drizzle through the
:27:46. > :27:55.South, but quickly disappearing, leaving a dry and bright sunny day
:27:55. > :28:00.for Scotland. Some cloud pushing its way in during the afternoon.
:28:00. > :28:09.Into the evening, the showers look more like rain, particularly across
:28:09. > :28:14.the far north. Much of the mainland will be dry and cloudy and mild.
:28:14. > :28:22.Tuesday, we have this weather front working its way in bringing a brain
:28:22. > :28:25.to northern Scotland. Elsewhere, a cloudy a day which hires top 10 or
:28:25. > :28:35.11 degrees. Midweek and we have this area of low pressure working
:28:35. > :28:35.
:28:35. > :28:44.its way in, just skirting past the not cop Scotland. Elsewhere, dry
:28:44. > :28:50.and mild with some sunshine and the North. Calder air coming in on
:28:50. > :29:00.Thursday. It could be wintry over the higher ground. Some sunshine on
:29:00. > :29:01.
:29:02. > :29:05.Friday. Alloa working its way in for the weekend. -- 8 lower.
:29:05. > :29:09.That's it from us. I hope we haven't depressed you too much. It