Search for woman swept into river ‘stood down’ as heavy rain batters Scotland

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Police Scotland have “stood down” searches for a person who was swept into the River Don near Inverurie in Aberdeenshire on Friday as heavy rain continued to batter much of eastern Scotland.

The force said in a statement late on Friday evening: “Around 3.05pm on Friday, November 18, police were called to the River Don near to Monymusk following a report of concern for a woman in the water.

“Police and emergency services attended and searches were carried out. Following assessments of the river conditions, the search has been stood down for the evening. Police inquiries are ongoing.”

The woman is believed to have been attempting to rescue a dog.

The coastguard also confirmed they had paused their search to continue with other tasks.

Schools have closed, roads left impassable and rail journeys heavily disrupted as heavy rain drenched parts of Scotland.

Elsewhere in the UK, rivers burst their banks, sometimes trapping drivers, after the torrential downpours on Thursday.

Rest centres have been opened in some parts of Aberdeenshire after flood warnings were escalated to severe.

The north-east of Scotland has been battered by heavy rain and flooding, with the council warning residents to take steps to protect their properties. Road maps of closures due to floods have been circulated and rest centres will open in Ballater, Aboyne, Inverurie and Kemnay for those needing help and who are unable to stay in their homes.

Aberdeenshire Council warned that river levels will peak later on Friday. Sandbag points have also been located around the region to protect from flood waters.

Power cuts are also affecting Inverurie, Kintore, Stonehaven, Portlethen and Hatton of Fintray among other locations, with reports of broadband internet being down. There has also been localised flooding in some parts of Edinburgh, with pictures showing the Crewe Toll roundabout in the west of the city submerged under water.

The Met Office has said more than a month’s worth of rain had fallen in Charr, Aberdeenshire overnight with the total recorded as 140mm.

A yellow warning from Kelso in the Borders up the east coast of Scotland to Banff was also in place on Friday. It had been due to expire at 6pm but was extended to midnight because the rainfall was slower to ease than predicted.

In Angus, all schools in Brechin, Montrose and Kirriemuir were closed due to localised flooding as well as more than a dozen others.

Train journeys across much of eastern Scotland have also been disrupted. The east coast mainline between Montrose and Laurencekirk is closed due to flooding on the line and no trains are currently running between Dundee and Aberdeen; Aberdeen and Inverness; Perth and Inverness; or Inverness and Wick.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) on Friday had in place five severe flood warnings, 28 flood warnings and nine flood alerts.

Vincent Fitzsimons, flood duty manager, said: “Heavy and persistent rain overnight has led to significant increases in river levels across the east of Scotland.

“We have seen almost a month’s worth of rain in some parts already this week and we are expecting around the same again over the course of Friday and Saturday in parts of north-east Scotland.

“The highest risk is to riverside communities in parts of Aberdeenshire and Angus, with severe flood warnings already issued.

“The worst impacts will occur between early Friday afternoon and early Saturday morning. We are working 24/7 with the Met Office and with information from Sepa’s gauge network to review the flood predictions for these communities and others. This will continue until the risk is over.

“Sepa is working with emergency response partners in the areas most at risk to help them prepare and to focus support to those communities who need it most.”

The disruption came after a band of rain hit the south-west coast of England on Wednesday evening before travelling north-east over two days, accompanied by cooler temperatures in a change to the previous unseasonably warm weather.

In England, which was hit by torrential rain on Thursday, there were nine flood warnings in place and 69 flood alerts. The warnings included the River Ouse at York, which broke its banks on Friday morning.

In the village of Alfriston in East Sussex, a refuse lorry and its crew were trapped by a severely flooded road.

Newcastle, Sunderland, Gateshead and Doncaster were among places in England facing travel disruptions to rail networks, metro lines, roads and bus services.

Stephen Dixon, a spokesperson for the Met Office, said the rain would slowly peter out by Friday evening but temperatures would drop overnight, as low as -4C in Northern Ireland. Saturday was expected to be clear, followed by more rain on Sunday.

“That sets up what is really the theme of the next week, which is continued wet and windy weather for much of the UK,” he said.

PA Media contributed to this report