Hundreds still without power after Storm Floris

SSEN teams have restored supplies to more than 70,000 homes

About 950 homes remain without power in the north of Scotland in the aftermath of Storm Floris.

Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) said it had restored supplies to more than 71,000 households but that 950 remained cut off.

Network Rail said it fully reopened the three remaining lines impacted by the storm on Wednesday night.

Storm Floris caused widespread disruption on Monday during an amber weather alert, with cancelled trains, flights and road closures.

SSEN, which delivers electricity in the north of Scotland, described Floris as "the most damaging summer storm in recent memory".

More than 70,000 properties were hit in the Highlands, Moray and Aberdeenshire, with food vans and welfare provided for families in the worst hit areas.

It said that 75% of the 950 homes still without power were in the Highlands.

Hundreds of engineers have been diverted from less impacted areas of the country and SSEN hopes to repair the final outages in Aberdeenshire.

Highland Council advised homes on private water supplies to boil all water before drinking, as the power cuts may have affected water treatment systems.

Andy Smith from SSEN said: "Thanks to a huge, combined team effort, great progress has been made over the past 24 hours, with several thousand more customers being reconnected.

"This work goes on, and while it does, our operation to keep our customers, supported and informed continues too.

"I'd also like to thank people and businesses in the Inverness area for their generous response to our appeal for available accommodation for our engineering teams."

SSEN has provided food vans in areas affected by power outages

A total of 119 incidents were reported on Scotland's railway network on Monday.

Network Rail said empty trains were used to transport workers to remote locations to clear the Aberdeen – Inverness line.

Other incidents saw trees falling on to overhead lines at King's Park in Glasgow, Cornton near Stirling and Bishopton near Paisley.

The Scottish government held an emergency meeting on Monday night in response to the "significant disruption" caused by the storm.

Justice Secretary Angela Constance said the power cuts had affected a "significant" number of properties and that the recovery period would take time.

Storm Floris compensation

SSEN said homes without power after the storm can make an online claim for £30 per person, per day to cover food and drink expenses.

People may also be entitled to additional compensation under guidance from regulator Ofgem.

Homes without power for more than 48 hours will receive £85, with a further £40 awarded for every additional six hours without power.

These payments are issued automatically onto energy bills.

The Met Office has warned that a further period of unseasonable wet and windy weather is expected on Thursday for those in north-western parts of the UK.