Scotland’s weather: east of Scotland badly hit by flooding

SCOTLAND has been hit with 24 hours of torrential rain with the east of the country particularly affected.

• East of Scotland worst affected by poor weather with numerous incidents reported

• Amber weather warning issued for Central, Tayside and Grampian

• Drivers warned to take care on the roads

• Rain expected to continue throughout much of the day

Fife has been particulary hit by the downfall with reports of motorists being trapped in cars and widespread flooding on roads across the region.

A woman and her dog had to be rescued from a car after it was stuck in around 3ft of water in Colinsburgh late last night, while another driver needed help from the fire service after a similar incident in Elie.

A spokeswoman for Fife Fire and Rescue said they were dealing with many calls and the council were assisting with clearing water from roads in the area.

She said: “It has been raining for a day now so problems are building up on the roads. A couple of drivers have not realised how deep some puddles are and tried to drive through them and ended up stuck.

“East Neuk and the Cupar area are worst affected at the moment and we have appliances out clearing roads in those areas.”

The A92 in Dundee has been closed due to flooding, while traffic was said to be slow on roads in Strathclyde and the Lothians because of surface water.

Central, Tayside and Grampian have been issued with amber “be prepared” warning from the Met Office, while the rest of the country has a yellow “be aware” warning.

The Met Office said that almost half the month’s average rainfall could fall in the Aberdeenshire area in the next 48 hours, with around 80mm possible.

Transport

Transport minister Keith Brown said: “Just weeks after the first major storm of the autumn, the transport network is braced for another major challenge.

“Transport Scotland’s Multi- Agency Response Team remains on standby and will be activated if required. Our operating companies are closely monitoring the situation and are ready to deal with any weather-related issues that arise.”

Teams of maintenance staff have been drafted in to work through the night at potential flashpoints on the railway network.

Last night, Nick King, spokesman for Network Rail, said: “We are expecting substantial rainfall and will be increasing our presence overnight by sending extra maintenance staff to monitor key areas of potential concern.

“We have our own meteorologist who gives us regular briefings about areas likely to be badly affected.

“Our teams are increasing their level of monitoring of flood sites, tunnels and areas where there are quite steep hillsides and water pipes. We have mobile pumps ready to be used if we spot a problem.”

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has issued 11 flood alerts throughout the country.

Richard Brown, head of hydrology for the agency, said it would monitor the situation over the coming days and update its advice accordingly. “We would encourage people in the areas potentially at risk to remain vigilant and be mindful of the conditions if travelling,” he said.

Weather outlook

Met Office spokeswoman Sarah Holland said the worst of the weather was due today. “The rain affecting the west is going to be quite persistent on Friday, particularly in North- east Scotland, which could lead to flooding,” she said. “It will be really slow moving overnight but is due to hit western areas by lunchtime on Friday.”