Staff alert as river close to bursting banks

MORAY Council staff were on flood alert last night as the swollen River Lossie threatened to burst its banks and reach overspill levels in Elgin.

Moray’s main town has already suffered three major floods in the past 15 years, the most recent in 2009.

The River Lossie was expected to peak at 2.6 metres high at 3am this morning – just short of the height of 2.7 metres at which the river will flood parts of Elgin.

A spokesman for Moray Council said local authority staff had been placed on standby after more than a day of torrential rain. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has also issued flood alerts for Findhorn, Nairn, Moray and Speyside.

The council spokesman said: “The River Lossie is expected to peak at 2.6 metres high at 3am tomorrow morning. The height at which the river will flood parts of Elgin is 2.7 metres.

“Senior managers from Moray Council met this afternoon to assess the risk to residents in Elgin. They were briefed by hydrologists and engineer staff from Royal Haskoning, the consultants working for the council on the Elgin Flood Alleviation scheme.”