Alerts lifted as waters recede and rain eases

Published on Friday 20 November 2009 21:46

SWOLLEN rivers were beginning to recede across southern Scotland last night after record November rainfalls brought chaos to rail and road travel and flooded homes and businesses.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) withdrew all the severe flood warnings that had been in force.

Seven severe flood warnings had been issued at one stage by Sepa yesterday, following three days of torrential rain.

At Eskdalemuir in Dumfries and Galloway, a record 141.6mm of rain (5.5in) had fallen in three days, with 76.4mm (more than 3in) in the 24 hours from Thursday through to Friday.

In neighbouring Cumbria, the Met Office said, the 24-hour deluge at Seathwaite of 314.4mm (12.3in) was a UK record since records began in 1914.

In Dumfries, 40 business premises were badly flooded as the Nith broke its banks. They included the offices of Russell Brown, the MP for Dumfries and Galloway. He said: "This is the worst that I've ever seen. It's a tragedy for these businesses. I have seen grown men in tears – so distraught it's almost as if their world has come to an end. People feel so helpless. There is nothing we can do because the water is still all around us."

More than 30 roads in Dumfries and Galloway were closed yesterday. Rail services were also disrupted with the main west coast line blocked because of a landslip between Carlisle and Penrith. Services between Glasgow and Edinburgh to Aberdeen were terminating at Dundee until conditions eased.

A spokeswoman for Scottish Borders Council said the council remained on alert as more rain was predicted this afternoon.

One man was unworried by the floods yesterday, as he went canoeing in a raging river. He parked his car beside the Nith in Dumfries around midnight, took a canoe from the roof and launched into the swirling waters. As police shouted at him to get out of the river, he carried on paddling before he climbed ashore on the opposite bank.

One spectator, Graeme Robertson, of Dumfries, said: "Everyone was amazed. Police rushed on to a bridge and called on him to get out, but he ignored them. He completed three runs up and down the river."