WIDESPREAD flooding in parts of Scotland is expected to present a “danger to life”, as heavy rain led to trains being cancelled and travel disruption.
A number of rail lines and roads – including the M9 and M8 motorways – were hit by flooding on Saturday morning, with the rain expected to continue into Sunday.
The Met Office has issued an amber weather warning for a large part of central Scotland, while a yellow weather warning covers most of the country.
As of midday, the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa), had issued 47 flood warnings and 17 regional flood alerts as well as a "danger to life" warning.
Vincent Fitzsimmons, Sepa’s flood duty manager, said there is a “major rainfall event that is bringing prolonged, heavy rain throughout the day and into Sunday”.
He said: "I want to be very clear that this is not a normal Autumn day for Scotland. We’re expecting extensive river and surface water flooding in affected areas. There is a danger to life. There will be widespread impacts to road and rail. There is a risk of more significant community scale property flooding.
“Rain will move across central and western parts this morning, moving northwards through the day. Many areas will see heavy rain for well over 24hrs before it clears on Sunday. Of particular concern are communities in the amber area that extends from west central Scotland northwards. Examples include Aviemore and communities down the Spey Valley, and also Milngavie, Aberfoyle, Callander and Bridge Of Allan.
“Further Local Flood Warnings are likely to be issued, people can always check our Flood Updates for all the latest information. We advise people living, working and travelling in the affected areas to consider any steps they need to take now to be prepared for flooding impacts and consider whether their journey is necessary.
"We will continue to keep a very close eye on the situation, monitoring 24/7 as well as working closely with the Met Office and other partner agencies.
“We would strongly advise people to sign up to Floodline to receive free updates for where they live, or travel through, directly to their phone. As well as checking our Flood Updates for all the latest information, people can view the three-day Scottish Flood Forecast to see what conditions are expected further ahead.”
You can check Floodline here and flood forecasts here.
Some railway stations, including Bowling in West Dunbartonshire, saw tracks completely submerged in water.
ScotRail said there would not be replacement buses for the routes it closed, including those between Perth and Inverness. Trains from England have also stopped running north of the border.
ScotRail’s managing director Alex Hynes posted on Twitter, saying: “We have some lines of route closed and significant disruption in the Amber weather alert area.
“Local roads are also becoming impassable in many areas. Please check before you travel and stay safe!”
