Story perspectives

Storm knocks out power to 161,400 UK homes

By Drooid · Oct 25, 2026, 10:06 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

UK Storm Disrupts

A 60-year-old man died when a tree fell near Castle Douglas, Scotland.
A man in his 20s was killed when a falling tree crushed his car in Mill Hill.
Energy Networks Association said 161,400 UK properties were without power by 15:00 GMT Sunday.
Network Rail cancelled services between Manchester Piccadilly and Liverpool Lime Street.
Met Office issued amber wind warnings for Scotland and northern England and yellow warnings for northern UK.

Summary

Sunak Urges Preparedness

The Scottish Government’s Resilience Room convened on Sunday to coordinate storm response and power restoration.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced emergency guidance urging households to store three days of food and water.
The Environment Agency issued 66 flood alerts across England, noting heightened coastal and inland flood risk.
Northern Powergrid advised customers with critical power needs to consider alternative accommodation until supplies are restored.

History

Historical Context

The night of 15–16 October 1987, a cyclone hit southern England with gusts up to 115 mph, felled 15 million trees and left hundreds of thousands without power for weeks. The Met Office’s forecast failure led to upgrades in observations, models and Weather Warning Service, prompting grid hardening and stricter building codes that now guide Scottish Government Resilience Room, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Northern Powergrid and the Environment Agency’s response.

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UK Storm Disrupts

A 60-year-old man died when a tree fell near Castle Douglas, Scotland.
A man in his 20s was killed when a falling tree crushed his car in Mill Hill.
Energy Networks Association said 161,400 UK properties were without power by 15:00 GMT Sunday.
Network Rail cancelled services between Manchester Piccadilly and Liverpool Lime Street.
Met Office issued amber wind warnings for Scotland and northern England and yellow warnings for northern UK.

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