Scottish weather: SEPA issues flood warnings for parts of Scotland, including Edinburgh and Lothians

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has issued flood alerts and warnings across Southern and Central Scotland.

SEPA has issued 20 flood warnings and 5 flood alerts across Scotland, mainly in the South of the country.

The village of Cramond, has received a warning, meaning that flooding is imminent with water levels high on the River Almond. SEPA has warned that flooding “may cause issues for boats moored in the river”.

Other flood warnings have been issued to locations in the Scottish Borders, while three flood warnings have been issued to Whitesands, Langholm and Newton Stewart in Dumfries and Galloway – which is currently under a yellow warning of rain which will stay in place until 3pm today.

Other larger areas have been put under alert, which means that flooding may be possible in these areas. These include Dumfries and Galloway, Edinburgh and Lothians, West Central Scotland, Ayrshire and Arran and the Scottish Borders.

Traffic Scotland said it had reports of flooding on the M74/A74(M) around Abington in South Lanarkshire and on the A75 near Barlae in Dumfries and Galloway.

Train services were also disrupted by the weather, including the Edinburgh to Glasgow Central via Shotts, Edinburgh to Glasgow Queen Street via Falkirk High and Glasgow Queen Street to Alloa/Aberdeen/Inverness services.

The Scottish Environmental Agency has issued five flood alerts and 17 flood warnings.

ScotRail tweeted that “there’s disruption on many routes this morning due to extremely heavy rain”.

The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for southern Scotland and South Lanarkshire which is in force until 3pm.

SEPA has asked people to remain vigilant and reminded them: “it is your responsibility to take actions which help protect yourself and your property”. Further advice and information is available through Floodline on 0345 9881188.

Scotland’s Transport Minister Graeme Dey said: “The conditions could potentially bring disruption to the trunk road and rail networks, so it’s important people plan their journeys before they set off.

“Motorists should make sure their routes are available, follow travel advice from Police Scotland and drive to the conditions. The Traffic Scotland Twitter page is regularly updated and the mobile website – my.trafficscotland.org – lets people access the latest information.

“If you are planning to travel by rail, please check with your operator ahead of your journey. This is particularly important for cross-border travellers following the earlier disruption to services.”

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) reported 116mm of rain at Eskdalemuir Observatory in the 36 hours to 9am on Thursday, well above levels over the previous days.

Scottish Borders Council said that further rainfall predicted through the morning and into the afternoon is set to have an impact on river levels later in the day.

It said the Teviot in Hawick has risen overnight, but is currently stabilising.

A further peak level is expected at around 11am, potentially around 2.8m, but is not expected to lead to property flooding.

Pascal Lardet, flood duty manager for Sepa, said: “River and surface water flooding is likely, particularly in eastern Dumfries & Galloway and western Scottish Borders.

“There could be localised flooding to low-lying land and roads, disruption to travel and flooding in parts of communities. We are monitoring the situation closely with partners in areas such as Hawick, Newcastleton and Langholm.”

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