Storm Goretti struck the south-west of England with a strength never before seen. What’s left is pretty astounding—thousands of residents in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly are now utility-less! Gusts are reaching close to 100 mph! A red weather warning has been issued as stormy, dangerous winds have wrought havoc across the country. Over 50,000 residential properties lost water and power. Local authorities are on the ground to continue focused recovery efforts necessary to restore these essential fundamental services.
It was this storm that caused the most destruction and chaos, particularly in Cornwall. Unfortunately, one man in his 50s died when a tree crushed his caravan. Devon and Cornwall police responded to the incident at approximately 7:35 PM on Thursday, shortly after the worst of the storm passed through the region.
The National Grid confirmed that there were still around 1,250 properties without power, especially around the Helston area. At the same time, South West Water (SWW) reported that 3,000 properties were without water owing to widespread infrastructure damage. Their best guess is that the storm uprooted 30 to 40 trees. Several of these trees landed directly on the dog-legged key mains which run from our Wendron water treatment works. Six of Halgaver’s category one pipes or major water mains in the Helston area were labelled as “severely damaged,” making a dire situation worse for local residents.
The Cornwall Council reported that 31 schools in the region either closed or opened late as a precaution against the ongoing weather challenges. Sam Bottomley, SWW’s water services director for Devon and Cornwall, described the effect of Storm Goretti on their water infrastructure as being “devastating.” The reality of the situation is what he stressed. Repair crews labored around the clock to restore service, having already safely restored supplies to over half of those served prior to the flood.
Liberal Democrat MP Andrew George has been a fierce advocate for a national emergency response. He says that this is key to address the damage of Storm Goretti. He condemned the government for abandoning Cornwall. He noted that it had been given a fraction of the coverage and budget as East Grinstead in Sussex was given after going through the same freak weather incident.
“If this happened in London or the home counties it would have been headline national news for days and the government would declare a national emergency.” – Andrew George
George went on to stress that more than 50,000 homes have experienced outages, illustrating the scale of this disaster in his own constituency. He expressed his concern for all those affected in East Grinstead. One thing he is adamant about is that the destruction being caused across Cornwall far exceeds what’s currently happening in the south-east.
“I have every sympathy for the beleaguered people of East Grinstead and would never seek to diminish the terrible impact this has had and is having on them. But I’m certain the impact of the devastating storm experienced in Cornwall and on Scilly would dwarf that of the poor folk affected in the south-east.” – Andrew George
Local businesses are feeling the strain. Janine Williams, a residential landlord in Cornwall, said hers was the only business that could stay open as the storm arrived due to electric and well water services. Sadly, scores of others have not shared the same luck.
“We’ve been quite lucky. The electric stayed on and we’ve got well water, so we’ve managed to keep our doors open. We’ve had our fires on and heating on, so people have had a warm place to sit.” – Janine Williams
Williams noted an influx of community members seeking assistance:
“I’ve had a bit of a mess. We’ve had a lot of people coming in trying to charge their phones.” – Janine Williams
Mary Creagh, MP, chair of the EFRA committee voiced her outrage at the continuing utility crisis after both periods of cold weather and Storm Goretti.
“I remain very concerned that people in several areas in the south-east and south-west are experiencing water supply issues following both cold weather and Storm Goretti.” – Mary Creagh MP
As recovery efforts continue across Cornwall, local authorities are working diligently to restore power and water services while ensuring that residents stay safe during this challenging time.