Significant storm impacts to continue

The Scottish Government’s Resilience Room (SGoRR) met this evening as more exceptional levels of rain were expected to hit parts of the country this weekend, causing further disruption and challenging conditions.

The meeting was chaired by the First Minister after a further high level Red Warning was issued by the Met Office for parts of Angus and Aberdeenshire from 00:01 to 23:59 Saturday.

People are urged not to travel and to stay at home in the affected areas, unless advised to relocate to a rest centre, with ‘exceptional’ levels of rain likely to result in significant disruption and danger to life. 

Amber warnings for rain will be in place for Easter Ross, Caithness and Sutherland on Saturday. In these Amber areas it is being advised people should avoid travel unless absolutely necessary.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has reported that record water levels have now been recorded at a number of its gauging stations, and that five Severe Flood Warnings are currently in place, as well as 11 regional Flood Alerts, and 16 local Flood Warning.

First Minister Humza Yousaf said:

“Storm Babet has now, tragically, claimed lives, and my deepest condolences go out to the families of those who have lost loved ones in tragic circumstances.

“I want to pay tribute to everyone across the multi-agency response to Storm Babet who continue to operate, often in incredibly difficult conditions to keep the people of Scotland safe.

“Unfortunately, it is clear we have not seen the last of this storm. Around half the average monthly rainfall for October is expected to fall through tonight and tomorrow in areas that have already been severely affected by exceptional levels of rainfall.

“It was always expected that the impacts of the storm would continue even once the most severe aspects of the storm itself had subsided, but a new Red Weather alert makes the ongoing severity of this situation clear. My very clear message to those covered by the Red Warning remains: please stay at home and do not travel, unless advised to relocate to a rest centre.

“A number of Amber and Yellow Weather Warnings meanwhile remain in place throughout many parts of the rest of the country. I urge everyone, however difficult this might feel over the weekend – particularly sports fans - to keep following the latest advice in order to keep you, and your families, safe.”

Assistant Chief Constable of Police Scotland Stuart Houston said:

"We are dealing with exceptional weather conditions which have been extremely challenging for all involved. With the red warning being extended until midnight Saturday, this remains a dangerous situation which poses a threat to life.

“We are working hard with a range of multi-agency partners to support communities and those who need our help. Communities in Tayside are dealing with some of the most difficult conditions they have faced, with a number of road closures in place due to hazardous conditions and evacuations continuing of those affected by flooding.

"I would like to thank the public for their co-operation and for sticking to the travel advice in place to keep people safe and would again urge people to continue to follow the advice and listen to media broadcast, including radio, for updates. Follow your local authority for the latest updates in your area as well as police, the Met Office website and Traffic Scotland.

"Our advice is to avoid any form of travel in areas covered by the red weather warning - we are dealing with significant flooding issues, which pose a threat to life."

Pascal Lardet, SEPA Flood Duty Manager, said:  

“These are very difficult days for communities in Scotland who are experiencing flooding, in some cases for the second time in a month. There is more rain to come, and SEPA staff are working around the clock to provide vital information to partners and the public.  

“We started issuing Regional Flood Alerts on Tuesday to provide early awareness and help people prepare, and these are being updated as required. We continue to monitor river levels and issue localised Flood Warnings as required. However, it is important to stress that not all areas that could be affected have Flood Warning schemes, so please do take a Flood Alert in your area as advance notice that you could be affected.” 

Background

Justice Secretary with responsibility for Resilience Angela Constance will oversee operations from the Traffic Control Centre in South Queensferry on Saturday morning (21^st October).

Resilience Partners include: Regional Resilience Partnerships for the three regions of Scotland; the Met Office; Scottish Water; Scottish Gas Networks; SSEN; and Scottish Power Energy Networks.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) issues regional flood alerts and local flood warnings for Scotland. View the latest updates on their website.

Updates on ScotRail services and road conditions are available online.

Advice on preparing for severe weather can be found on the Ready Scotland website.