Tree hits home as Storm Amy weather front batters west coast

Severe winds led to ’regrets’ from Mowi  that around 75,000 fish with an average weight of 860g  escaped from one of its pens at our Gorsten seawater farm. "Initial investigations indicate that the intense weather conditions caused mooring anchors to drag, and this brought the pen net into contact with a flotation pipe subsequently causing a tear. Despite challenging conditions, Mowi swiftly informed the relevant authorities, including local fisheries stakeholders and is now undertaking a full investigation," said a spokesperson for the fish farm.

The whole of the coastline was battered relentlessly by Amy for almost three days, with train services cancelled and a building collapsing in Glasgow.

Despite Met Office warnings, Network Rail said the high winds hit "much harder and more quickly" than it expected - with fallen trees, flooding and debris blocking lines.

Ross Moran, route director at Network Rail Scotland, said: "Our teams are working tirelessly to assess the damage, inspect the railway.

"Safety remains our top priority. We must ensure our teams can work safely on the ground and confirm that lines are secure before passenger services can run."

Gusts of 96 mph were recorded on the Island of Tiree at the peak of the storm.

ScotRail services were cancelled until Sunday on the West Highland Line, Oban/Crainlarich/Fort William/Mallaig and the Inverness/Wick/Kyle line, while many CalMac services were also impacted. 

Mull did not see its first sailing until 9am on Monday, with power to Craignure only restored a few hours before. 

CalMac crew from the MV Loch Frisa, Alan Arkison, Darren McCullagh, and Sandy Woods rolled up their sleeves and got to work once the weather died down, clearing trees in the which were blocking the way to Craignure’s ferry terminal. 

The ferries to Lismore, Coll, Tiree, Islay and Jura were also cancelled during the weekend due to high winds and the resulting swell. 

Due to extended power cuts, many islands struggled with food supply from Friday to Tuesday, with refrigerated goods spoiling and new deliveries not possible without ferries. Deliveries are now coming into the islands again, with regular sailings resuming at the beginning of the week.

Before the storm hit, Argyll and Bute Council sent contractor AtkinsRéalis to Gribun Rocks on Mull for a site visit as part of a Geotechnical Risk Management survey.

After three landslides/rockfalls at the site along the B8035 in recent months, the contractor identified areas of significant risk of further rockfall at the top of the cliff in the region of the recent failure. They warned that with the coming weather front, it was likely the ground would give way again. 

The council kept the road closed, warning of a significant risk to life. At the time of going to press, no update from the contractor was available, but the council said it was ’not aware’ of the fourth failure that had been feared.