Website to raise the alarm over flooding

A WEBSITE is to be launched next month to alert Lothians residents to flood risks.

The Scottish Flood Forecasting Service will allow households and businesses to act sooner if they are in an area where flooding is a possibility.

As well as frequently updating the website, the service will also send text alerts to those who sign up. The system has already undergone some testing in other parts of Scotland, with that set to continue ahead of the launch next month.

Funded by the Scottish Government, the new resource is aimed at providing "robust, timely advice during flooding incidents". It will also help emergency response teams act if flash flooding occurs.

The Lothians is not the worst affected part of Scotland for flooding, but there have been major incidents across all four local authority areas, mainly attributable to rivers and waterways bursting their banks.