Emergency Response Team at work

In late 2025, BT repaired a crucial subsea fibre cable to Tiree that was damaged by Storm Amy, causing significant outages; the repair involved complex operations by specialist vessels and teams, alongside temporary solutions like Starlink, with full restoration confirmed by November 2025.

The Incident & Impact:

• Damage: Storm Amy damaged the subsea fibre cable, cutting off primary internet and impacting mobile coverage (EE/BT).
• Community Impact: Islanders faced slow, limited connectivity, relying on temporary satellite links, affecting healthcare, business, and daily life.

BT's Response & Repair:

• Emergency Response Team: BT's Emergency Response team deployed, setting up Starlink satellite dishes to restore essential services at the surgery, school, Bank, Local Shop,Hotel & Petrol Station. 
• Repair Operations: A specialist barge and team worked to locate and repair the ~1.2km damaged section, requiring calm weather (5+ days).
• Enhanced Protection: The repaired section will receive extra armoring for improved resilience against future damage.
• Full Restoration: By late November 2025, the subsea cable repair was completed, restoring full service.

Actions BY ERT 

Large capacity pump up and running to gradually bring water levels inside flood wall down. 

Next steps were to deploy other pumps strategically around building to lower the level on the following priorities: 
1 - generator room on ground floor 
2 - cable chamber underground 
3 - rest of underground floor 
 
Concerns

• High tide at 5pm so peak water level expected 6-7pm 
• First floor water level reduced significantly due to pumping in engine room but when pump turned off it refills from the compromised flood defences