Nearly 70,000 people are without power after intense storms and “hurricane winds” slammed Scotland.

Power cuts were flagged up across the country by energy company Scottish Hydro which is owned by SSE.

So far its network distribution arm has restored power to another 27,500 customers.

But wind speeds of 113mph are “hampering” efforts of engineers to repair or replace equipment damaged by the storm.

Rural areas and the Western Isles have “borne the full brunt” of the storm, said the supplier.

Dingwall is the hardest hit area, with 16,500 homes without energy.

These are the number of customers off supply as of noon today (9 January):

Aberdeenshire                                     2427 customers

Buchan                                                2250 customers

Rural areas around Dingwall             16500 customers

Rural areas around Dunblane            1922 customers

Rural areas around Dunoon               2228 customers

Elgin/Huntly                                         2764 customers

Rural areas around Fort William        3191 customers

Inverness-shire                                   9200 customers

Rural areas around Oban                   3946 customers

Orkney                                                889 customers

Rural areas around Perth                   1513 customers

Skye                                                    6978 customers

Western Isles                                      8435 customers

Rural areas around Wick                    7286 customers