Caution urged amid flood risk in Scotland

The public has been urged to take care over the next few days as flood alerts and warnings in Scotland have increased after a weekend of poor weather conditions.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) has three flood warnings in force, and 12 less severe flood alerts in place.

The warnings affect Newton Stewart and Whitesands in Dumfries and Galloway and the Churchill Barriers, Orkney.

The alerts affect much of the rest of Scotland.

The Met Office has yellow warnings in place for wind and rain affecting most of north-western Scotland.

The wind warning is in place until 10am on Monday, and the other for rain ends at 8am on Monday.

David Morgan, Sepa’s flood duty manager, said: “Continuing heavy rain, combined with melting snow, increases the risk of flooding.

“Flood risk is greatest in Dumfries and Galloway, and the west and north of Scotland.

“Possible impacts could include flooding affecting parts of communities, low-lying land, transport infrastructure and individual properties.

“Driving conditions will be very difficult at times.”

Matthew Lehnert, chief meteorologist for the Met Office, said: “We’ll see a transition in our weather across the UK through Sunday, with mild Atlantic air moving in from the west.

“Temperatures will rise and we’ll see rain rather than snow accompanying some strong gusty winds in the north.

“Warnings have been issued for heavy and persistent rain, as well as these strong winds overnight in western and northern Scotland.

“While the wintry weather may have come to an end, the significant snow accumulations in parts of Scotland mixed with heavy rainfall and an increase in temperatures bring a risk of flooding in some areas as the snow melts.

“Keep up to date with the flood warnings issued by Sepa and check your flood risk.”

The Scottish Government Resilience Room met for the seventh day in a row on Sunday, where they and partner agencies discussed how to respond to the harsh weather conditions affecting the country.

The meeting heard that Highland schools are expected to return on Monday and Aberdeenshire Council said many of its schools and health care services would reopen.

Justice Secretary Angela Constance, who hosted the meeting alongside the First Minister, said: “As wintry conditions ease across the country, we are urging the public to remain vigilant.

“Rising temperatures and heavy rainfall, combined with melting snow, bring a significant risk of flooding in several areas.

“This could affect properties and transport routes, with difficult driving conditions expected in many parts of the country at the start of the working week.

“Ministers have now met in the Scottish Government Resilience Room for seven consecutive days, bringing together partners including Sepa, the Met Office, Police Scotland and local responders to ensure our response is co-ordinated.”

She added: “Agencies are working around the clock to support communities as the conditions change.

“I would encourage everyone to keep a close eye on weather forecasts, flood alerts and travel advice for their area over the coming days.

“Please follow the updates from key agencies including the Met Office, Sepa and Police Scotland.”

Aberdeenshire Council had previously declared the weather a major incident, but has since announced it has ended.

Waste management teams and council staff were deployed to clear the heavy snow in the area, and 170 farmers and contractors were brought in for further assistance.

Jim Savege, chief executive of the council, said:  “We have responded to five amber weather warnings in very quick succession, resulting in snowfall, freezing temperatures and a prolonged period of winter weather.

“What we have experienced over the past two weeks has far exceeded what we would consider as part of our routine winter maintenance programme and it has required an extraordinary effort from the council, our partners, farmers, contractors, communities and individuals.

“As ever, our residents have shown remarkable resilience and have supported each other throughout this period.

“The declaration of a major incident supports us in reallocating resources to where the need is greatest, along with making mutual aid requests to other agencies and councils.”

He added: “Whilst we have stood down our major incident, we are still very conscious that there is more to do before we are back to normal.

“There is a significant risk of flooding on our networks as the snow melts, and there is a forecast for more snow, rain and high winds – all this means the council will continue to work with a heightened state of emergency response.”

Some roads are currently facing disruption due to flooding, Traffic Scotland said.

The A92 is closed in both directions at Portlethen, and the A83 at Rest & Be Thankful has seen traffic diverted via the Old Military Road.

There are restrictions in place on the A78 B/D at Portencross, North Ayrshire, the A78 N/B at Fairlie, North Ayrshire, the A8 E/B at Port Glasgow, Inverclyde, and the A90 B/D Toll or Birness, Aberdeenshire.

A decision will be made about returning traffic to the A83 trunk road by midday on Monday following a hillside inspection and subject to the forecast improving.

Euan Scott, Bear Scotland’s north west representative, previously said: “The safety of road users is the priority for Bear Scotland and we closely monitor conditions at the Rest and Be Thankful on a daily basis.

“Heavy rainfall is expected throughout Sunday, which will increase saturation levels on the hillside.

“We have therefore made the decision to utilise the Old Military Road as a proactive safety measure.

“The use of this route maintains access to the A83 corridor for the travelling public, keeping Argyll very much open for business with minimal delays of around 20 minutes.

“Subject to the weather improving, we plan to inspect the hillside thoroughly on Monday January 12 and this will inform a decision to return traffic to the A83.”

There have also been several ferry cancellations, including in Oban, Troon, Mallaig, Ullapool, Raasay, Armadale and Largs.

ScotRail said some services that were cancelled have now returned to normal, but warned that some services may be subject to delays and cancellations.