Second death and 90,000 without power as Storm Babet clean-up continues
Storm Babet has now killed at least two people, left around 90,000 homes without power and disrupted travel, with flood warnings and a new wind warning for Tuesday.
How it was covered
- BBC One carried 59% of the airtime.
- Channel 5, BBC Two, GB News and ITV: not found in tracked broadcasts.
- BBC News: covered online, not found on air.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story. Facts only one channel reported are attributed to it.
Storm Babet has left at least two people dead and about 90,000 homes without power, with flooding and high winds continuing to affect Scotland and northern England.
A 60-year-old man died after he was hit by a falling tree on a small road near Castle Douglas in Dumfries and Galloway at around 10am. A second man was killed when a tree fell on his car in North London, following the first fatality in Scotland.
Power supplies remain badly affected. Earlier reports said more than 80,000 homes and businesses across the country were still without power, while later figures put the number at about 90,000 homes in Scotland and the north of England. An amber warning for severe weather remains in place for much of Scotland and parts of northern England until 9pm.
Flood warnings are still active. There are four in Scotland, mostly in the north, and 10 in England, largely in the north but with some in the southeast. The Met Office has issued another yellow warning for wind on Tuesday for much of Scotland and other northern areas.
Travel has been widely disrupted, with flights, rail services and ferries affected. In Dumbarton, High Street was submerged last night, and a mobile phone shop owner described feeling heartbroken as he assessed ruined electrical stock. Clean-up efforts have been hampered by strong winds that have continued to gust up to 85 miles an hour. Some schools in Scotland stayed closed because they had no heating or water.
Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Widely reported · 3 or more of 4 channels | ||||
| Power cuts left more than 82,000 homes and businesses without electricity at lunchtime, while Northern Powergrid outages fell from 27,000 to about 7,000. | Reported by Channel 5 | |||
| Reported by a few · 2 channels | ||||
| A second man died in weekend storms after a tree fell on his car in North London. | Reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | |
| Only on one channel | ||||
| A man died after being struck by a falling tree in Dumfries and Galloway. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by Sky News | |
| Flood warnings remained in place: four in Scotland, mostly in the north, and 10 in England. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | |
| Millions remained under an amber severe weather warning until 9pm. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by Sky News | |
| Strong winds of up to 85 mph hampered clean-up efforts. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Sky News | |
| The Met Office issued a further yellow wind warning for Tuesday covering much of Scotland and other northern areas. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Sky News | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
BBC ONE West led with the first confirmed death, a 60-year-old man hit by a tree in Dumfries and Galloway, and kept the focus on the amber warning, power cuts and travel disruption. It gave the most detailed local colour, including flooded Dumbarton High Street and a shop owner assessing ruined stock. Its power figure was the earlier 80,000 and it did not carry the later report of a second death.
- “A 60-year-old man has died after being hit by a tree as Storm Babet has brought high winds and heavy rains to northern parts of the UK.”
- “More than 80,000 homes and businesses across the country are also still without power.”
- “Dumbarton High Street last night, completely submerged as the flooding took hold.”
Sky News moved the story on by reporting a second storm death, a man killed when a tree fell on his car in North London. It gave a higher power-cut figure of 90,000 homes and listed the remaining flood warnings by nation. The tone was brisk and update-driven, with less local detail than the BBC.
- “Now, a second man has been killed in storms from the weekend.”
- “90,000 homes are still without power.”
- “In Scotland, there are still four flood warnings in place.”
Channel 4 focused on the continuing outage and recovery problems, reporting 90,000 homes without power and clean-up work slowed by winds of up to 85mph. It added school closures in Scotland and a fresh yellow wind warning for Tuesday. It did not lead on the deaths, making the bulletin more about practical disruption than loss of life.
- “90,000 homes in Scotland and the north of England remain without power after flooding and high winds caused by Storm Bolo.”
- “Clean-up efforts have been hampered by strong winds which have continued to gust up to 85 miles an hour.”
- “The Met Office has issued another yellow warning for wind on Tuesday from much of Scotland and other northern areas.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.