Scotland battered by Storm Frank deluge
Flood warnings remain in place across Scotland today after heavy rain from Storm Frank battered the country.
Flood warnings remain in place across Scotland today after heavy rain from Storm Frank battered the country.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) issued a ''severe flooding - danger to life'' warning for Whitesands in Dumfries and Galloway and for the River Tweed in Peebles in the Borders.
Throughout Scotland there are around 70 flood warnings and 12 flood alerts in place.
Aberdeenshire, Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway bore the brunt of the severe weather which caused disruption to road, rail and ferry services across the country.
Twelve people, including two children, were rescued from a bus after it was stranded in flood water in Dailly, South Ayshire, yesterday.
Ten of the passengers were airlifted by a Royal Navy helicopter from the vehicle while a further two people were taken off the bus by boat.
The four men, six women, a seven-year-old boy and a five-year-old girl were taken to a local community centre to be assessed by medical staff.
The rain and gales also left thousands of homes in the north without power, with faults caused by wind damage and trees or other debris on the lines. SSE said around 200 homes in the Ballater area of Aberdeenshire would be without power overnight due to severe flooding.
People in Anderson Road, Deebank Road and Albert Road in Ballater were evacuated and a rest centre was set up at the Victoria Barracks and nearby Aboyne Academy.
Travel on motorways and rural routes alike was also severely disrupted by surface water, and the A83 at the Rest And Be Thankful was closed after a landslip.
Police, coastguard and ambulance crews were, meanwhile, responding to reports of a missing kayaker on the River Findhorn in Moray yesterday afternoon. There was no update available on the incident.
In Aberdeen, Coastguard rescue teams were called to help evacuate residents from a care home which was flooded.
Residents were also evacuated from Riverside Drive in the city and moved to Norwood Hall which was opened as a rest centre.
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.
The Scottish Government's resilience committee has been meeting to discuss the situation.
Environment minister Aileen McLeod said: Local resilience teams across Scotland are working tirelessly to manage the impacts of the heavy rainfall that has resulted in significant flooding in local areas and I thank them for all their ongoing hard work and efforts.
Of course, our thoughts and sympathies are with all those whose homes and livelihoods are being directly impacted, for example through being evacuated from their homes.
Communities are still seeing significant impacts and, although the worst of the weather is over river levels in some areas have yet to peak and we will continue to see localised flooding. I encourage people in affected areas to check with Sepa and Traffic Scotland for the latest position, particularly before they attempt to travel.
The First Minister, Deputy First Minister and other relevant ministers have been updated on the ongoing situation and will continue to offer their support to local resilience teams as they work to deal with the impact of the flooding.''
Transport minister Derek Mackay added: There have been challenging conditions across our transport infrastructure today and many local areas continue to feel those impacts. Our resilience teams are working closely with partners and agencies to keep our transport networks operational.''