Flood response continues

As the worst of the recent storm damage recedes people are being encouraged to remain vigilant.

Although there is an improving situation there remain 18 flood warnings and six flood alerts in place. These are mostly in the Moray Council area although anyone travelling should be aware that due to on-going assessment of conditions, these are kept under review and they should check the SEPA Floodline for the latest updates.

The Finance Secretary John Swinney announced yesterday the Scottish Government will consider emergency financial assistance for local authorities affected to help deal with the costs of flood damage through the Bellwin scheme.

Most people who had to be evacuated during the worst of the flooding have now been allowed to return to their houses, although a number of properties were damaged in communities such as Dallas, Moray.

The power supply in up to 1,700 homes in the North East were affected yesterday and all of these have now been reconnected.

The Scottish Government Resilience Team and Transport Scotland colleagues continue to liaise with resilience partners in affected areas and monitor the situation.

It is understood that the Elgin Flood Protection Scheme, which is still under construction, has already provided benefits, meaning that whilst river levels were high the area did not see a repeat of events in 2009.

Environment and Climate Change Minister, Paul Wheelhouse said:

“The recent severe rainfall has caused some of the worst flooding in years in some parts of Scotland such as Moray, where some areas received more than 125mm rain in 24 hours. I’d like to pay tribute to all those involved in supporting communities affected. The councils, local fire and rescue services, other emergency services, utility companies and volunteers in local communities reacted very swiftly to minimise the impact of rising water levels.

“Scotland already has robust resilience arrangements in place and we continue to look at any advances we can make and optimise local responses in any future incidents.

“Having visited flood-hit areas in the past, I’ve seen the devastation flooding can cause and my thoughts are with all those whose homes or livelihoods have been affected. People should be aware that because of the amount of rain we have had, river levels will remain high, even though, in the immediate period, we do not anticipate we will see more heavy rain.

“I also encourage everyone to check SEPA’s Floodline website for the latest flood information and to sign up to receive Floodline warnings direct to their phone.”