A 60-year-old woman has died after being struck by a falling tree in Aberdeen during Storm Kathleen, which brought gusts of up to 85mph to the Aberdeenshire coast. The incident occurred on Saturday morning as the storm swept across Scotland and northern England.
In a separate tragedy, a nine-year-old boy was killed by a falling tree in Winnothdale, Staffordshire, on Saturday afternoon. A man in Bradford escaped with minor injuries after his van was crushed by a tree.
The storm caused widespread power outages, with thousands of homes in Scotland and England left without electricity. Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) reported that engineers faced difficulties accessing faults due to fallen trees blocking roads. In the north-east of Scotland, approximately 20,000 homes were expected to remain without power overnight.
Police Scotland urged people to avoid travel unless absolutely essential. An amber weather warning for wind was in place along the east coast of Scotland and north-east England, while much of the rest of Scotland, Northern Ireland, and parts of northern England were under a yellow warning.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon described the impact of Storm Kathleen as 'severe' and warned that a second storm, Storm Corrie, was expected to bring further high winds to Scotland on Sunday, potentially more severe for parts of the Highlands, Grampian, and Tayside.
Train services were suspended on several routes, including between Dundee and Aberdeen, Aberdeen and Inverness, and on the West Highland line north of Helensburgh. Network Rail urged passengers to check their journeys before traveling. A number of welfare centres were opened for those in need of showers and power, and hot food trucks were dispatched to the worst-affected areas.
