A Perfect Storm

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While we all hope there won’t be further storms this year, and perhaps you would all prefer to move on, it is worth refl ecti ng on past events. Where Arwen could be described as unprecedented in recent memory (except for those around in 1953), Malik and Corrie arrived as many communiti es were only just beginning their resilience planning, and strategies that were under considerati on quickly became operati onal plans.

Where the developing resilience groups had yet to formalise working partnerships with other community groups, members of the resilience groups turned their strategies into acti ons. With power out in all villages surrounding Aboyne from Saturday, Aboyne lost power late Sunday evening, or early Monday morning (for those already fast asleep).

In the morning, some may have thought the Community Centre was the place to go for refuge and support, it was in fact the Scout Hut; not that there was ti me to share this prior to Malik and Corrie arriving, but the Scout Hut crew had begun their preparati ons following Storm Frank and had the foundati ons for implementi ng a strong resilience response.

Bernie Cassie and family and the Paper Girls established a hub, Mike Brown wired up their generator and the building had power. With gas fi red stoves set up, hot water was available and then, once cooked, a warm soup. With additi onal food arriving care of Aberdeenshire Council, via a detour to the swimming pool, meals were available and were delivered by Shauna

Riding out the Storm(s) A refl ecti on on recent events by Councillor Paul Gibb

Wright and a small team of volunteers to those unable to leave their homes. Thus far this sounds like it was a prett y straight-forward exercise, but it wasn’t. It required a considerable eff ort through coordinati on with their personal contacts to seek help, overcoming frustrati ons with the comms with external agencies, understanding who needed support and where they were, whilst managing their personal situati ons as everyone including the volunteers had family they needed to care for. The resilience group based in the Scout Hut put in an exhausti ng 12hour shift , not including the clear-up the following day. At ti me of writi ng it cannot be said how many visitors there were to the hub, or recipients of hot meals from a welcome face to see if they were OK, but that so many were is down to the eff orts of a very small group, fewer than 10 people, to whom we owe our thanks.

The Paper Girls “Putting the community at the heart of everything we do”

A community-focused shop, selling and delivering a wide range of newspapers, magazines, confectionery, stationery and local produce

OPEN Monday to Friday 0530-1600 Saturday 0530-1600 Sunday 0600-1200

Charleston Road | Aboyne | 01339 886847 | thepapergirls607@gmail.com See our Facebook page for updates and new developments

Working in parallel to the group in the Scout Hut, Ali and Nicola Tong responded to the needs of residents in Praesmohr House. Having had a generator from Michael Bruce wired in for a while, Ali and Nicola provided lunches and dinners, courtesy of his portable BBQ. It should also be noted that businesses opened where they could and provided support, gas, food etc and many residents took ti me to check on their neighbours, providing camping stoves and hot water to those who needed them.

While the community will conti nue to develop its resilience strategies, building on what has been learnt, it will be a while before these are formalised and shared with every resident. There will be opportunity for all communiti es to review recent events and responses at a forum to be held by the Marr Area Partnership; it will be good to learn what worked in neighbouring communiti es and build these strategies into local plans where appropriate. Meanwhile, and as food for thought, we do need more volunteers; any future event would be bett er responded to where the resource on the ground was greater in numbers and thus capacity to respond to challenging and ever changing needs, even if only for a few hours, help in any form would be greatly appreciated.

If you think you might be able to help, please contact the Community Council middeesidecommunitycouncil@gmail.com

Here’s hoping we are not soon faced with another storm, and that we have ti me needed to improve our resilience.

Councillor Paul Gibb Councillor for Aboyne, Upper Deeside & Donside (Ward 15)

This note can not be concluded without also saying thanks to the SSEN engineers and their corporate team, who again responded in large numbers coming from all across the UK to help us get back on power, and this work goes on today and will conti nue to do so for many months.

Sco� sh Water, when the power to the pump that feeds the water tanks below Courthill Wood was out and the pressure dropped and the water ran out in Aboyne, had a line of tankers [refi lling the tanks] which remained on stand-by unti l they were no longer required.

The telecoms companies are also out, fi xing lines and ensuring connecti ons are restored. We will conti nue to see them all in and around the village for some ti me.

Perhaps a fi nal word goes to the Estates who are clearing the trees and helping, with Council staff and contractors, to clear the roads; this is a signifi cant piece of work and some recreati onal paths may not be opened for a while as prioriti es will be on ensuring roads are safe and that weakened trees will not yet fall and cause damage or worse.