Saturday, January 4, 2014

Flood concerns switch to east coast

Scotland weather: Flood concerns switch to east coast

Forth Bridges Much of the concern about weather conditions on Saturday features the Firth of Forth

Local authorities and the environment agency Sepa have warned of a possible large storm surge on the Forth on Saturday afternoon.

The greatest danger will be at about 16:00. Low lying areas around the Firth of Forth and inland at the River Esk in Musselburgh are at risk.

A number of flood alerts and warnings have been listed on the Sepa website.

On Friday, heavy rain and tidal surges brought problems to Dumfries and Galloway, Ayrshire and Argyll.

Homes were flooded in numerous towns and villages along the coastline.

A Met Office warning of rain and wind covered much of Scotland for most of the day.

It issued yellow "be aware" warnings of rain and high wind for all areas of Scotland apart from Grampian and the Northern Isles.

The south west of Scotland was one of the worst-hit areas, having suffered similar problems earlier in the week.

Dumfries and Galloway Council said numerous properties had been flooded along its coastline.

It said homes in the Isle of Whithorn, Portpatrick, Garlieston, Kirkcudbright, Annan, Carsethorn, Powfoot and Port William had been affected.

Three families had to be evacuated from the Queensberry Bay Caravan Park in Powfoot.

Flooding at Dumbarton The River Leven at Dumbarton before high tide
Flooding at the putting green office in Largs The putting green in Largs was flooded
Road flooded The road to Glencaple in Dumfries and Galloway was badly affected by flooding
Helensburgh Helensburgh was said to be experiencing its worst conditions for several years

People in Helensburgh said they experienced the worst conditions in many years, with the esplanade flooded and closed at various points.

Environment Minister Paul Wheelhouse urged members of the public to remain vigilant to the threat of flooding.

He visited the Police Scotland Communications Centre in Govan to see activity in response to the severe weather.

He said: "Preparedness for flooding events such as those experienced by Scottish communities in the past week is key.

"I have seen from Police Scotland cameras that emergency responders are working extremely hard in locations around the country to provide a co-ordinated response to these difficult conditions.

"I'd like to pay tribute to the dedicated efforts of all the agencies involved in tackling flooding."

He said councils and the emergency services were "ready to react swiftly to minimise the impact of flooding".

"Keeping up-to-date with the latest information is crucial to communities vulnerable to flooding," he said.

"I'd encourage everyone to regularly check with the Sepa Floodline website for updates and warnings.

"Users can also sign up to receive Floodline warnings directly to their mobile phone."

Have you been affected by the floods? Do you live in the areas where new flood warnings have been put in place? How are you preparing? Please get in touch using the form below.

Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.

Read the terms and conditions


No comments:

Post a Comment