New £67.4m Ipswich tidal flood defence barrier opened

More than 1,600 homes and 400 businesses are to be protected from flood risks associated with climate change

Flooded cars on a US street
Climate change ‘could see floods and storms triple’

A new report says this could cause significant economic and social damage across Europe and North America by the end of the 21st century

Storms steal power in south east England

There are 1,649 people still without power after storms swept through central southern England last night. Customers in areas ranging from Reading, to Southampton and the Isle of Wight are waiting to be reconnected, as of noon today (15 January). Forecasters at the Met Office had predicted the “volatile” weather at the start of the week […]

Storms leave 800,000 without power in Brazil

Heavy rains and thunderstorms in Brazil left hundreds of thousands of people without power earlier this week. Sao Paulo’s power distribution company AES Eletropaulo said rainstorm with winds of more than 85 kilometre per hour and close to 8,000 lightning strikes on Monday night left around 800,000 customers without electricity. It added the storms knocked […]

Last push to restore power to 1,100 Scots

Engineers are on a final push to reconnect 1,100 customers in the Highlands and Western Isles still without power after treacherous storms this weekend. More than 120,000 homes have been hooked back to the grid by Scottish Hydro Electric Power Distribution (SHEPD) and its sister firm SEPD. SSE, which owns the firms, says engineers battled […]

“Hurricane winds” plunge Scots into blackouts

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 […]

California storm causes two-day blackouts

Power has been restored within 48 hours after a massive storm hit parts of Southern California. More than half a million homes were left without power when heavy snow and rainfall battered remote and hard to access areas. A gas and electricity company worked around the clock to restore electricity to over half a million […]

Editorial – The secret miracle at Xmas…

Yes it’s here Christmas is upon us. For the millions who are heading home, catching up with loved ones and friends and swapping gifts, it is the time of year to take a breather. But for those who make it possible to enjoy the warmth and comfort of our holidays, there is no time off. […]

Seaweed shuts down Torness nuclear plant

The nuclear power station at Torness in Scotland was temporarily shut down by seaweed last week. The unusual cause of the shutdown came in the wake of severe weather and stormy sea conditions in the coastal region to the east of Edinburgh. EDF Energy which runs the plant said they decided to turn off first […]

Killer storms cut power for thousands of US homes

Severe storms reportedly responsible for the deaths of at least three people in the north east of USA caused power cuts to hundreds of thousands of people at the end of last week. More than 330,000 customers across Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and New Jersey were affected, according to US supplier FirstEnergy, which said most […]