Bus passengers airlifted as storm batters Scotland
Passengers have been airlifted from a bus after it became stuck in flood water as Storm Frank battered Scotland.
Emergency services and a Royal Navy helicopter were called to the scene near Dailly cemetery in South Ayrshire at about 1.35pm on Wednesday.
Police Scotland said ten people have been rescued from the bus and assessed at a local community centre by medical staff. None of the passengers needed to go to hospital.
Aberdeenshire, Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway bore the brunt of the severe weather which caused disruption to road, rail and ferry services right across the country.
The storm has also left thousands of homes without power and severe floods in its wake.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) has issued a severe flooding - danger to life'' warning for Whitesands in Dumfries and Galloway and for the River Tweed in Peebles in the Borders.
Across Scotland there are 94 flood warnings and 12 flood alerts in place.
Police, coastguard and ambulance crews are, meanwhile, responding to reports of a missing kayaker on the River Findhorn in Moray.
The Scottish Government's resilience committee has met to assess the response to what environment minister Aileen McLeod described as a very serious situation''.
About 6,000 homes in the north were without power on Wednesday afternoon as the persistent rain and gales hampered efforts to restore the supply.
SSE said faults were caused by wind damage and trees or other debris on the lines, but that engineers are working to restore customers' supply by Wednesday evening.
Travel on motorways and rural routes alike have been severely disrupted by surface water, and the A83 at the Rest and Be Thankful was closed after a landslip.
Forecasters at MeteoGroup said Braemar in Aberdeenshire has been the wettest place in the Scotland since midnight after receiving 64mm of rain up to 2pm on Wednesday.
Tyndrum in the Stirling Council area received 58mm and 39mm fell in Eskdalemuir in Dumfries and Galloway.
Glasgow was the wettest city with 43mm rainfall compared with 9mm in Edinburgh.
Dumfries and Galloway Council said flood levels in Newton Stewart had exceeded those experienced by the town in November 2012.
Homes have been evacuated and a rest centre set up at Douglas Ewart High School.
The local authority said Moffat had effectively been cut off by floods, with the A701 closed both north and south of the town.
In Ballater, Aberdeenshire, residents from Anderson Road, Deebank Road and Albert Road have been evacuated and a rest centre set up at the Victoria Barracks and nearby Aboyne Academy.
The Aviemore caravan park in the Highlands was evacuated after rising water levels and Hogmanay visitors were advised by police to consider other options.
Ms McLeod said: ''We are dealing with a very serious situation as a result of Storm Frank.
''Weather warnings from the Met Office have unfolded as forecast and much of Scotland has been experiencing strong winds, torrential rain and rising rivers.
''The Scottish Government's resilience team is closely monitoring the situation which is still developing as persistent rain continues to fall on to saturated ground - and is expected to deteriorate further as river levels continue to rise, even after the rain has stopped.
''It is imperative that people look for and take heed of the latest warnings, information and advice from Sepa, Police Scotland and Traffic Scotland.
''In particular, consider whether you need to travel and take all possible precautions to stay safe, particularly in the worst-affected areas.''
A spokeswoman for Stagecoach said: One of our buses travelling from Girvan to Ayr was involved in an incident near Dailly this afternoon.
The road, which was open to traffic at the time, was affected by flooding and we are assisting the emergency services in dealing with the situation.''