Storm damage set to create new Hebridean islands

While geologists will be fascinated by the possibility of two new Scottish islands being created, the issue is more serious for locals who fear that the encroaching seas will damage homes and agricultural land.

On the largest of the affected islands, South Uist, the Atlantic Ocean is in danger of breaking through to flood into four freshwater lochs on the west coast of the island. The severe storms in January, which cost the lives of five people on South Uist, tore away chunks of coastline as wide as 50 metres, meaning that one of the lochs, Loch Altabruig - near the village of Snisheval - is now just 100 metres from the ocean.

In addition, the loch is separated from the sea by low-lying land, the loch’s level is beneath that of the ocean and it is linked to a series of other lochs which in turn link to the Minch - the sea to the east of the island.

It is feared that the next series of storms will tear away at the strip of land between the loch and the sea. Three other lochs are similarly at risk. The local land is notoriously prone to erosion because the soil is only a few inches deep and overlies a sandy base. Once the sand is exposed, it is quickly blown away, allowing the sea to move further in.

Sarah MacEacharn, who is part of the Middle District Action Group, a campaign formed since the January storms to demand better coastal protection, said: "Our worry is that the way things are going, the sea will break through. A very high tide could already reach the loch. If it breaks through, then there is a whole system of lochs there that will go tidal. And because the loch is lower than the ocean, we are very worried about the whole effect."

She added: "You can chat about who will get what name. Will there be a North South Uist, or a South South Uist, or whatever. That might be amusing, but the worry is what will happen to homes and roads and what can be done to protect against further erosion."

The tiny island of Vatersay, the southernmost inhabited island in the Outer Hebrides - which lies south of Barra - is the subject of similar worries.

The north and south parts of the island are linked by a narrow, exposed isthmus, just 500 metres wide, which was battered by the January storms. At high tide the link narrows to less than 200 metres. To the west of the strip of land is the Atlantic, and to the east, the Minch.

Patricia MacNeil, one of the locals on Vatersay, said: "You see the link getting narrower every year. It used to take you ages to walk from one side to the other. Now it’s nothing but a hop and a jump. And it’s not just the really big storms which are doing the damage - each gale is taking something away."

Scotland’s leading expert on coastal erosion, Professor Bill Ritchie, the director of the Aberdeen Institute of Coastal Science and Management - whose doctorate was on coastal erosion in South Uist - said: "They are right to be concerned at the possibility of the sea breaking through to lochs, but it is too early to say what will happen. There is a lot more research which needs to be done.

"Nature can go some way to repairing itself, and you do see evidence of coastline which is damaged and then subsequently built over during calmer weather."

A spokeswoman for the local Western Isles authority, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, said that the council was investigating the situation and what might be done to shore up coastal defences.

She added that the question of what to call new islands, or what constituted an island, was a lesser priority than what to do about local homes, schools and roads.

She said: "Right now the priority is habitation. We are aware of the issues involved and we are studying the situation. We are looking at what can be done to protect property and services."

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Executive said that coastal management was a matter for the council, as was the matter of what constituted an island.