LISTEN: Moray Communities In Line For New Flood Protections
Terry Dey, from Dallas, has been out of her home for months after the River Lossie burst its banks.
A Moray flood victim is welcoming moves to establish new protections for small communities.
Terry Dey had to leave her home in the village of Dallas when the River Lossie burst its banks last year.
Dozens of homes were damaged as flood waters raced through the main street in August.
She's now moving back into her house for the first time in 7 months.
The council says a feasibility study into potential new schemes is being carried out.
This could cover Dallas, Hopeman, and the Portessie area of Buckie and Arradoul.
MFR Reporter Derek Ferguson speaks with flood victim Terry Dey about her experiences...
Terry said: "The house is over 130 years old, but it had never flooded before.
"Water was running down the middle of the street like a river; a lot of houses, between 29 and 40 have damage of some sort.
"I'm really disappointed because I thought all the survey had been done, I thought they'd be able to give us an idea of when work would start.
"We really need the work done now or we'll flood again.
"Work in our area isn't going to cost a lot of money, in comparision to what we already spend.
"We need the work done in the summer rather than later on."
2 other areas - Portgordon and the Seatown area of Lossiemouth - are being considered separately because they have already been designated by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency as potentially vulnerable.
The studies are expected to be completed within 6 months.
Moray Council's economic development and infrastructure services committee heard the flood risk management team did not have sufficient resources to examine each of the areas simultaneously.
A report said: "One method of managing this workload would be for areas to be prioritised according to the extent and frequency of flooding."
However, councillors were told that each individual study would take around five months and if they were to be carried out simultaneously, help would be required from outside consultants with the associated cost implications.
Council convener Councillor Allan Wright said he favoured the combined approach of the council's own flood risk management staff working with consultants to enable the studies to go forward together.
"We owe it to the people in these communities," he said.