UK gasps for electricity after storm

Some 30,000 people in the north of England and in Scotland have been without electricity for the better part of a week after a storm brought snow, ice and the most severe disruption to infrastructure in years, British officials said on Wednesday.

Storm Arwen delivered wind gusts of almost 100 miles per hour to northern and western parts of the UK on Friday and over the weekend. The weather disrupted transportation and caused residential power outages, especially in rural and hard-to-reach areas. Officials have said three people died in storm-related incidents.

UK business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng told Parliament that while almost 1 million people, or about 95 per cent of those affected, have had their power restored, some 30,000 remained without electricity as of Wednesday.