Andrew has welcomed the intervention of British Armed Forces after Aberdeenshire Council submitted a request for support in aftermath of Storm Arwen.
"Since Friday, engineers and council staff have been working to reconnect homes, schools and workplaces across the North East. Businesses and community volunteers have given so much support and I am endlessly thankful to them for that.
"Still, almost a week after the Storm Arwen red weather warning, they need more help.
"I know the decision to ask British Armed Forces to augment that capacity is a difficult one, and the MoD faces many calls on its resources due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Our service men and women have faced those with great determination across the North East, Scotland and the whole of the United Kingdom.
"And I hope that this intervention will have the same speedy and effective impact as it has on vaccine deployment and help for our NHS.
Key points from todays announcement,
- 134 personnel from across the three services will deploy to the Grampian region in Scotland today to support the response to Storm Arwen.
- Armed Forces personnel will check on vulnerable people in their homes and will conduct door-to-door checks on an additional 4,000 homes.
- Teams of 10 will deploy to remote communities who have been impact by the loss of power and water following the Storm.
- Locations are Aboyne, Alford, Banchory, Banff, Ellon, Fraserburgh, Huntly, Inverurie, Peterhead, Stonehaven, Turriff and Westhill.
- The support is being provided through a Military Aid to the Civil Authorities request.
- Personnel deploying come from units based in Scotland including 39 Engineers, 3 Scots, 45 Commando and Lead Air Support Squadron.
Andrew added;
"As the situation improves, questions arising from the initial response to Storm Arwen in Scotland must be answered - this cannot be allowed to happen each time there is an extreme weather event."
