The extremely high winds from Storm Eowyn have caused damage across Dumfries and Galloway, impacting infrastructure, closing roads due to fallen trees, and causing multiple power outages.
We appreciate many communities across Dumfries and Galloway continue to be impacted by Storm Eowyn. We still advise everyone to take care on and in our roads, parks and open spaces.
Support available
As of 5pm Friday 31 January the warm hubs set up by the Local Resilience Partnership LRP have been stood down.
SP Energy Networks (SPEN) – the organisation responsible for restoring electricity to affected properties across the region – has the latest information on support and compensation here: Adverse Weather Warning - SP Energy Networks
Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Care at Home teams continue to support the most vulnerable in our communities, providing welfare calls and visits.
Should affected residents need further help and advice they should call the council’s Customer Contact Centre on 030 33 33 3000 where staff will be able to signpost you to the appropriate guidance.
See our council social media (Facebook and X) for further updates.
These are the remaining effects on council services as a result of Storm Eowyn:
Council buildings
Safety inspections have been carried out across council buildings and facilities. All council buildings have been passed safe to re-open.
Schools and early learning settings
We took the decision to close all schools for pupils and staff on Friday 24 January 2025 due to Storm Eowyn.
Following the assessment of council properties over weekend, all schools and early learning settings have now re-opened as normal.
Parents/carers have been informed by the schools.
Should there be any changes to this, parents/carers will be notified through the emergency school closures system. You can find the notifications here: Emergency school closures | Dumfries and Galloway Council
Missed bin collections Friday 24 January (due to Storm Eowyn)
Frontline waste collection staff returned to normal working arrangements on Monday 27 January, following the disruption caused by Storm Eowyn.
As part of the council’s recovery efforts, and after positive discussions with our workforce, our waste collection staff will work on Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 February to support our communities – and collect the waste that was not uplifted on Friday 24 January due to Storm Eowyn.
If your bin was due to be picked up on Friday 24 January, please put your bin out for collection before 6.30am on Saturday 1 February. We will empty these bins by end of the working day on Sunday 2 February. In addition:
- Householders whose bin was not collected on Friday 24 January can also present up to two bags of excess side waste if your non-recycling waste was not collected.
- Recycling waste (excluding food waste) can be placed out in boxes or bags, and we ask that paper/cardboard is kept dry and clean for collection.
This will not affect your other bin collection schedules. You can check your bin collection schedule here: Your bin collection days | Dumfries and Galloway Council
We apologise for the inconvenience.
Food waste
If you have excess food waste due to the effects of Storm Eowyn that will not fit in your food waste bin, you can place this in your non-recycling bin.
If you have a large amount of food waste that will not fit in your food waste bin, grey-lidded bin or the two permitted bags of side waste, please email domesticwaste@dumgal.gov.uk with your address and contact details and our team will be able to discuss your options with you.
You can also take excess waste to your local recycling centre by booking a slot on our website – Recycling Centre.
Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs)
All our HWRCS re-opened as normal on Monday 27 January.
UPDATE: This Saturday and Sunday, 1 and 2 February, our Household Waste Recycling Centres that normally open at 12.15pm will now open an hour earlier at 11.15am (except Beattock) – to support our communities’ recovery from the effects of Storm Eowyn.
Our Annan, Locharmoss, Castle Douglas and Stranraer sites will open as usual at 9am.
Please book your slot Login | Dumfries and Galloway Council
Roads
Our roads and neighbourhood services teams have been out since first light on Saturday 25 January clearing our region’s A- and B-class roads. All are now re-open. Some minor roads will continue to be affected this week due to the huge impact of Storm Eowyn on our vast roads network in Dumfries and Galloway. Our teams will continue to repair the damage to our roads network and verges caused by Storm Eowyn.
The gritting team has been out on the region’s priority routes on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 January and will continue to work round-the-clock to grit our roads network. You can keep up to date with what they are doing by using our find my gritter tool at Gritter Tracking. Again, we still strongly advise everyone to take care on and in our roads, parks and public spaces – and stay safe.
Leisure centres and museums
All our leisure facilities and museums are open as normal.
Customer Service Centres and libraries
All our customer service centres and libraries re-opened as normal on Monday 27 January.
Please check this webpage or our social media pages for any further updates.
Social care
We are currently prioritising those most in-need. Full services resumed on Monday 27 January. We appreciate the support from families, neighbours and communities in providing additional care and support for their loved ones and would ask, where possible, that this continues to allow services to get back up-and-running.
Care Call
Telephone 0303 333 3000 for our Care Call team, which provides support for council out-of-hours emergencies.
The Care Call service received 6321 calls between Friday morning and Sunday 26 January, more than six times the usual amount, and made 114 welfare calls to people who need additional support.
Food safety advice
Power cuts can increase the risk of food-borne illness. To keep safe please follow this advice.
For households:
If you have suffered a power cut due to Storm Eowyn and your frozen food is still frozen then it can still be used. If it has thawed, it should be disposed of.
Don’t refreeze thawed foods. If you think the food has re-frozen following an extended power cut it should be binned.
You should chuck out perishable food if the fridge has been off for more than 4 hours. Do not rely on smell or the appearance of food – if in doubt, throw it out.
Find further advice at Food safety and hygiene information | Food Standards Scotland | Food Standards Scotland and Avoid food poisoning and waste during a power cut | Food Standards Scotland.
For business:
Your food business should dispose of any foods that have been outwith a controlled temperature. Before disposing of food, make a list and take pictures if you need to make an insurance claim.
Ensure that the fridges and freezers have been cleaned and sanitised and that the temperatures are back to normal before you restock.
If your bins can’t hold the extra waste, please arrange an extra uplift with your provider to remove the waste as soon as possible.
Private water supplies:
If you have a private water supply, you should consider whether untreated water may have entered your supply network. Check your system and take appropriate steps to disinfect it. Until your system is fixed, all water used for drinking, cooking and brushing teeth must be boiled. Alternatively, you could use bottled water.
Public parks and cemeteries
There continue to be significant impacts to our parks and cemeteries following Storm Eowyn. We are assessing the damage and our Community Assets team will clear debris and fallen trees in the coming days. In the meantime, please exercise caution when visiting our parks, cemeteries and open spaces.
Public toilets
We closed all our public toilets on Friday 24 January due to the storm. After assessing the buildings over the weekend, they are now open as normal. You can find a full list of our public toilets on our website: Find a public toilet | Dumfries and Galloway Council.