Residents are expressing frustration over the inadequate response and assistance following the havoc wreaked by Storm Goretti, which led to significant power outages, fallen trees, and water shortages.
The storm, which hit the UK last week, left over 30,000 homes in Cornwall and surrounding areas without electricity. Heavy snowfall, torrential rain, and winds reaching up to 99 mph contributed to the widespread disruption.
Many elderly residents were particularly affected, enduring nearly five days without heating, lighting, or functional telephones as fallen trees obstructed access routes.
Tragically, the storm claimed the life of a 50-year-old man in Mawgan, west Cornwall, when a tree fell on his caravan.
At the renowned St Michael’s Mount, hurricane-force winds uprooted dozens of trees, while elsewhere, graves were disturbed by toppled trees.
Meanwhile, about 17,000 homes in Kent and Sussex continue to suffer from severe water outages. South East Water attributes these issues to Storm Goretti, which caused burst pipes and power outages.
Many residents are into a fifth day without water, with the newest outages starting overnight between Friday and Saturday – affecting homes and businesses. Several schools were forced to close again today due to the issue.
It comes as a fresh yellow weather warning for rain is set to come into effect in the south of the country, with up to two inches of rain set to fall from 9am until 10pm tomorrow.
Senior Gardener Jack Beesley stands next to an upturned tree today in St Michael’s Mount, Cornwall
A property extensively damaged by fallen trees caused by Storm Goretti on January 10 in Falmouth
A yellow weather warning for rain is set to come into effect in the south of the UK from 9am until 10pm tomorrow
James Southey, 50, who lived on farmland in Mawgan, west Cornwall, was described as a ‘kind family man’
Fallen trees lie on the grass in St Michael’s Mount, Cornwall, this afternoon
The National Grid today confirmed the power cuts in the south-west have been fixed, after Cornwall residents were left freezing and in the dark, night after night.
As Cornwall counts the cost of the deadly storm, many people living in the county say they feel ignored as they try to rebuild their lives.
Linda Williams, 86, said she was left without heating, lighting and a working phone for almost five days.
Talking to the Guardian before her power was restored, she said: ‘I think it’s safe to say that we’re in a bit of a state.
‘I feel vulnerable. But I feel I have to stay put so I’m here if the power companies come to sort it out.’
The pensioner said neighbours and friends came to her aid, bringing hot meals, bags of Cornish pasties and flasks of hot water so she could use her hot-water bottle.
Andrew George, MP for St Ives in Cornwall, said residents have been left ‘traumatised’ and were ‘disappointed’ by services’ response to the storm.
He told the Daily Mail: ‘As an example, on the Friday I was communicating to a nursing home, which had all water and electricity taken, so they were unconnected. You can imagine in a nursing home there are extremely vulnerable, ill people. Having cold, old, frail people without any water is not a great place to be.
‘I called on the services, and was then promised they had a team out, that they were going to bring a generator out with them and help packages and so on, and I’ve just in fact had an email from them saying thank you for my efforts, and the generator never arrived.’
Senior gardener Mr Beesley inspects an uprooted tree in Cornwall after the storm
Last week saw Storm Goretti bring high winds to Cornwall which left a trail of destruction
A property damaged by fallen trees caused by Storm Goretti on January 10 in Falmouth
A fallen tree caused by the storm blocks the road at Church Hill near St Gluvias in Penryn last week
He added: ‘Another nursing home was in a very exposed position; […] the roof collapsed and they had to urgently evacuate 11 patients to other places. It was not easy.
‘In my constituency you have a lot of older people living on their own or in couples in very vulnerable circumstances – quite isolated and worried.’
Local Liberal Democrat councillor Juliet Line visited residents who were cut off, and tried to get the highways department to move fallen trees so the crisis could be fixed.
‘The lack of national attention has been frustrating,’ she said before the power outage was fixed. ‘Staff at the council and local people are working so hard but the scale of the problem is massive.’
Graves at Paul Cemetery, near Mousehole village in west Cornwall, were ripped apart after the storm’s strong winds uprooted trees.
One resident told the BBC that some of the graves were relatively new, describing the scene as ‘heartbreaking for the relatives’.
There was also tragedy as ‘gentle giant’ James Southey, 50, was killed when a tree fell on his caravan during the storm.
Mr Southey died on Thursday evening when storm-force winds hit the region. Despite officers working through Friday to safely remove the tree from the mobile home, Mr Southey was found dead at the scene.
The extensive damage caused to St Michael’s Mount after Storm Goretti – with almost 100 trees blown down
Damage caused by trees on Friday after they fell during the storm in Falmouth, Cornwall
A member of staff at Trebah Gardens in Cornwall inspects damage caused by trees brought down during Storm Goretti
His sister Sam said he was a ‘gentle giant who would do anything for anyone’.
She posted on social media: ‘Absolutely devastated to share the tragic news of the death of my brother James. We are all in shock and struggling to come to terms with this very sad news.
‘Never in a million years do you expect that knock on the door to be for you. He was a gentle giant who would do anything for anyone, we will miss him dearly.’
After power was resumed in Cornwall this week, the National Grid said in a statement: ‘I’m pleased to say that all customers who reported power cuts due to Storm Goretti are now back on supply.
‘I would like to thank them for their patience and understanding while we have worked round the clock to repair damage.
‘Teams will be in the hardest hit areas for the coming days completing repairs and supporting customers, but our network is now operating under normal conditions.’
In Kent and Sussex, about 17,000 properties remain affected by water outages today, understood to be caused by burst pipes and power cuts from the storm.
Some residents are in a fifth day without water, with the newest outages starting during overnight between Friday and Saturday last week.
Yesterday, water supplies to Loose in Maidstone; Blean near Canterbury; Headcorn; West Kingsdown; and parts of Tunbridge Wells, all in Kent, were restored, South East Water said.
A car arrives to collect bottled water at an emergency water distribution point yesterday in Maidstone, Kent
Bottled water is loaded into a car at the emergency water distribution point in Kent
Ofwat, the water services regulation authority, voiced ‘concern’ about the latest outages, and said it would ‘review all the evidence’ before deciding whether SEW met its legal obligations to customer care.
SEW’s incident manager, Matthew Dean, said: ‘Around 25,000 customers in Kent and Sussex remain affected by no water or intermittent supplies following the recent cold weather and a subsequent breakout of leaks and bursts across Kent and Sussex, which has resulted in our drinking water storage tanks running very low.’
Bottled water stations have remained in place in Tunbridge Wells, East Grinstead and Maidstone.
The company said yesterday it is ‘working around the clock’ to fix the leaks and bursts across the counties.
Mr Dean added: ‘Our customer care team is delivering bottled water to the customers on our priority services register who are most in need.
‘We are also supporting hospitals with tankers and providing bottled water for care homes, schools, medical care providers and to support livestock.’
Heavy rain is set to fall in the south of England tomorrow, with the Met Office warning of surface water flooding on roads and pathways.
Bus and train services are set to be affected, with people warned to expect journey times to be longer than usual.
More than two inches of rain could fall within areas of the yellow weather warning zone, covering much of the south.
