Alan McEwan, Scotsman Journal
The Lothians were on storm alert today as experts warned that winds of up to 90mph were set to batter the region. The Met Office said that gale force winds will continue to pummel the region today but predicted they were only "the calm before the storm". Forecasters advised the public to brace themselves for powerful gusts tomorrow night which will continue into Wednesday. A Met Office spokesman said: "We are expecting a windy Monday with further showers blown by strong winds. "Winds in Edinburgh and the Lothians are up to gale force for today although they will tend to die down and become less frequent with some showers developing. "But we are expecting a significant storm to affect Scotland and Northern Ireland with winds gusting up to 70mph on Tuesday night and into Wednesday. Tuesday night may even see winds in Edinburgh reaching 90mph."
we are expecting a significant storm to affect Scotland and Northern Ireland with winds gusting up to 70mph
The warning came as the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) issued an all-clear for rivers in the Lothians. A Sepa spokesman said: "Although river levels are still high, there is no significant rainfall forecast for today. This will result in river levels reducing throughout the day." A spokesman for Lothian and Borders Police added that there had been no problems reported as a result of flooding. But many parts of Scotland remained on flood alert following another night of high winds and heavy rain. Across the country seven severe flood warnings were in place today, with 13 flood warnings, mainly in the Highlands, and 25 flood watches. Meanwhile, part of the West Coast Main Line was closed by flood damage with Virgin Trains from Glasgow and Edinburgh to the south via Carlisle cancelled. Roads throughout the country were also closed as widespread flooding took its toll. The A7 at Hawick in the Borders was shut due to a landslide and both the Tay Bridge and Forth Road Bridges were closed to high-sided vehicles. A number of roads in central Scotland, including the A9 at Plean, A84 Callander to Strathyre and the B829 Aberfoyle to Kinlochard road, were closed. Many others were open but affected by surface water. In Aberdeen, police were evacuating two residents of a building in Hutcheon Street after part of its roof was torn off by high winds. Hundreds of homes and businesses in the Tayside area were preparing for serious flooding after torrential downpours caused river levels to rise across the region. In Grampian the search will resume this morning for a man feared drowned in the River Findhorn, near Forres in Morayshire. Grampian Police confirmed Andrew MacDonald, 42, who is missing from his Forres home, fitted the description of a man seen being swept away by a raging torrent on Saturday morning. Yesterday a ferry forced aground by hurricane-force winds was refloated after more than 30 hours at sea. • Residents of flood-ravaged Carlisle were returning to their homes today after heavy rain brought chaos to the region. Flood waters which had engulfed part of the city had receded by up to three feet overnight, allowing homeowners their first clear view of the devastation. The weekend’s heavy storms led to disruption across the area with emergency services put under strain attempting to rescue stranded locals. Hospitals cancelled many operations and non-emergency treatment to cope with the volume of people displaced by the floodwater. Power lines were affected and mobile telephone masts were brought down by the torrential rain, hampering local residents contacting relatives or calling for assistance. Three people were killed and two were missing after the heavy rains and gales swept through northern England. Rail services from Edinburgh to Dundee, Aberdeen and Inverness were suspended due to floods yesterday. The latest warnings follow widespread problems linked to gales last week. On Thursday afternoon, a 74-year-old woman was blown on to London Road and hit by a bus. She was taken to the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary with serious head and arm injuries.
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