The small village of New Mill in Cornwall has been left reeling in the aftermath of Storm Goretti, with scores of residents still without power, water or reliable phone connections almost a week after the devastating weather event. While local authorities and neighbours have rallied to provide aid, there is a growing sense of frustration that the national government has failed to step in and offer sufficient support.
Linda Williams, 86, is one of those affected, having been without heating, lighting or a working phone since last Thursday. “I think it’s safe to say that we’re in a bit of a state,” she said, adding that she has been relying on the kindness of neighbours who have brought her hot meals and flasks of water. Another resident, Roger Gillespie, 75, is cooking on a camping stove and warming his 15th-century mill house with a log burner, while wearing a head torch permanently due to the lack of electricity.
The local Liberal Democrat councillor, Juliet Line, has been working tirelessly to coordinate the response, visiting those cut off and trying to get utility companies and the highways department to reconnect people and clear fallen trees. However, she has expressed frustration at the lack of national attention, stating that “the scale of the problem is massive” and that “people don’t even know if help is coming.”
Andrew George, the MP for St Ives, has echoed these concerns, calling for a national emergency to be declared and for extra resources to be provided. He has also warned that there could be undiscovered fatalities, with one man already killed when a tree fell on his caravan, and said that “people are feeling traumatised.”
The village of Goldsithney, near Penzance, has been particularly hard hit, with a fallen tree blocking the main street and causing damage to a cottage. Neighbour Harry Glasson said that the family living there had a “narrow escape,” adding that the situation is “the state of the country.”
The impact of the storm has not been limited to human suffering, with the National Trust reporting that hundreds of thousands of pounds’ worth of damage has been done to St Michael’s Mount near Penzance, with around 80% of the island’s trees felled.
In the House of Commons, Cabinet Office minister Dan Jarvis sought to reassure the public, stating that the government cared as much about Cornwall as the rest of the country. However, he acknowledged that coastal and rural communities were vulnerable and said lessons would be learned from the incident, particularly regarding the failure of internet-based phone systems.
As the clean-up and recovery efforts continue, residents like Jan Shearn, 80, a retired headteacher, are left wondering when life will return to normal. “God knows when we’ll be back to normal,” she said.
