'I've never seen anything like it', Broughty Ferry pub flooded
Heavy downpours left Ronnie Bissell's cellar under three foot of water
Last updated 28th Jul 2021
A Broughty Ferry pub owner says he’s never seen anything like last night’s heavy rain, after finding his his cellar submerged in three foot of water.
Claypotts Road was closed in the early hours at the junction of Queen Street.
The downpour flooded The Occidental Bar as well as a site which is building flats opposite.
Ronnie Bissell who runs the pub says he’ll be closed for the foreseeable future.
"I'll need to get the carpets professionally cleaned. I hope they're saveable, I think they will be," he said.
"I'm going to need several days to get this done. I've got a lot of phone calls to make to get this arrange.
"I've been here over 16 years in the pub and I've never seen anything like it."
"I heard thunder and lightning during the night. I was awoken by it and when I did leave the pub last night around 11.45pm the rain was very heavy."
A nearby building site where eight flats are being developed was also flooded, with water marks of at least two foot high seen on the entrance to the basement.
One staff member at West Development Homes described the scenes he saw this morning as "frightening".
Mr Bissell was alerted to his own issues within his bar when his alarm went off.
"When I came down I couldn't believe it, I couldn't get near the pub. It was approximately a foot high in water in the surroundings of the pub, I had to wade through that foot to get in the door of the pub.
"The cellar at that time, was about three foot deep in water. All the empty kegs were floating and a lot of units had moved.
"All the electrics are off in the cellar as well."
Elsewhere manhole covers burst under pressure from the water on Stannergate Road.
Tayside Contracts has been carrying out repairs and the road has since reopened this morning.
More than 50 emergency calls overnight
Fire and rescue crews were mobilised to a number of flooding incidents caused by heavy rain across the region, with Tayside among the worst affected areas overnight.
Between 6pm on Tuesday, July 27 and 8am on Wednesday, July 28 the Service's Operations Control room in Dundee received more than one hundred 999 calls – with 53 related to flooding.
This included calls to a number of homes that were flooded in Perth, Dundee and Angus. Crews attended these incidents and pumped water from the affected properties.
The risk of more flooding for the area is high and the Met Office has issued an amber weather warning for rain for the North and North-East of Scotland which runs until 6am on Friday 30 July.
John MacDonald is Deputy Assistant Chief Officer for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. He said: "This has been a challenging night where we received a high number of weather related calls.
"We have seen high numbers of flooding calls from the Perth, Dundee, Angus, Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire areas were people’s homes were affected by flood water caused by the rainfall - resulting in a significant localised response.
"Crews also attended a number of other incidents including road traffic collisions and fires across the region.
"My thanks must go to our crews and Operations Control for their outstanding work overnight in very challenging conditions, and to our partners for their continued assistance."
"The control room in Dundee received more than one hundred 999 calls overnight"
DACO MacDonald added: "This was a severe weather event and the number of these incidents are increasing. There is still an amber warning of rain in the North and North East of Scotland and I would urge people to be aware of the forecast where they are, be aware of the risks and take action to protect themselves.
"Do not under any circumstances attempt to drive through flooded areas as you may become trapped, and take steps to protect yourself and your property from floodwater where necessary."
A spokesperson for Dundee City Council said: “Crews have been out since 11pm on Tuesday night attending flooding issues, mainly missing or blown off manhole covers.
“We are working closely with colleagues in Scottish Water to make these safe by putting up barriers or sourcing replacement covers where possible.
“Incidents were reported in a number of locations including Dens Road, Balgillo Road and Turnberry Avenue.
“In Stannergate five manhole covers were blown off, which have been made safe.
“Gully cleaners are attending flooded areas in a number of locations.”