UK’s island in 4th day without power as more snow forecast

By Leila Nezirevic

LONDON (AA) - Thousands of residents in Shetland are facing a fourth day without power as engineers warned Thursday that some could be left without electricity until the weekend amid the threat of additional snowfall and freezing temperatures.

The Scottish Government declared a major incident for Shetland on Tuesday urging anyone needing support to get in touch with authorities after thousands were left without electricity due to heavy snowfall.

Around 2,400 properties are still facing power cuts in West Mainland, Voe, Brae, and Yell as engineers from the Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) work to restore power by the end of the week.

Schools in the area remain closed with freezing temperatures and extremely limited road access. Helicopters are being used to carry electricity poles.

The head of the region for SSEN Distribution, Mark Macdonald, said in a statement that an additional 125 engineers will be sent to support local teams “while simultaneously reconnecting homes by rerouting the network and connecting large-scale mobile generation to restore power to our customers.”

Police Chief Inspector Stuart Clemenson said local and national partners and members of the community are working around the clock to “ensure vulnerable people have the support they need.”

“While we wait for power to be restored to all homes, I continue to urge people to stay at home and find ways to stay warm,” he said in a statement.

The Met Office warned that icy showers will continue to affect areas of northern Scotland and parts of northeast England until later Thursday.

Yellow warning of snow and ice for central and southern Scotland and parts of the Highlands and Aberdeenshire will take effect Thursday at 6 p.m. local time and is expected to last until 11:59 p.m. Friday.

The extreme weather is expected to continue for the next 24 hours.