Rural households are bracing for another winter of disruption as storms grow more frequent and power cuts last longer, leaving communities isolated while repairs drag on.
Scottish Land & Estates (SLE) has warned that urgent action is needed to strengthen rural resilience, saying extreme weather is no longer an occasional crisis but a regular threat.
Eleanor Kay, senior policy adviser for agriculture and climate change at the organisation, said storms that were once rare are now becoming part of everyday reality. “Devastating storms used to occur perhaps once every thirty years but they are becoming more frequent,” she said.
Rural areas, she explained, are disproportionately affected, not just by the immediate damage but by the slow return of essential services. Long distances, fragile infrastructure and limited access routes mean power lines, roads and communications can take far longer to restore than in urban areas.
“We need a strategic plan to protect rural communities and ensure there is sufficient investment in network resilience, rather than simply repairing damage each time, after the event,” Kay said.
The cost to rural businesses is mounting. Scottish Land & Estates highlights losses ranging from ruined crops and damaged forestry to broken machinery and harm to buildings, bridges and roads caused by flooding and high winds. Power outages are also more prolonged in rural locations, disrupting farming operations, supply chains and daily life.
The risks were laid bare by Storm Arwen in November 2021, one of the most destructive storms in recent UK history. Three people lost their lives, power lines were brought down and millions of trees were uprooted.
Around 150,000 homes were left without power or essential services, particularly in northeast Scotland, the Scottish Borders and Dumfries & Galloway. In some areas, electricity was not restored for nearly two weeks, with insurers estimating the total cost at £300 million.
As further winter storms are forecast, SLE says lessons from Arwen remain highly relevant, particularly around digital infrastructure. Kay stressed that connectivity is now critical in an emergency.
“Digital connectivity is now essential for business continuity and indeed for responding to an emergency,” she said, warning that broadband and mobile outages “hit rural areas hardest and last the longest here”.
She argued that preventative investment would reduce both risk and long-term costs. “If we build in resilience to our digital and power networks we can protect vulnerable people in rural areas and also avoid the cost of expensive repairs,” she said.
The organisation is calling for closer collaboration between government, public agencies and rural communities to improve preparedness. “Closer collaboration and partnership working between government, public agencies and rural communities could help save lives and ensure we are better prepared before the next storm hits,” Kay said.
Alongside strengthening power and digital networks, recommended measures include natural flood prevention schemes, improved drainage and stronger bridges.
In some areas, road and bridge repairs following Storm Arwen have taken several years, highlighting what SLE sees as the long-term consequences of failing to invest ahead of extreme weather.
Rural resilience planning, the organisation adds, must be informed by the experiences of those most affected, so proven solutions can be shared and implemented.
Without decisive action, it warns, rural communities will continue to face repeated disruption as severe storms become an increasingly regular feature of UK winters.
