A DESPERATE search is underway in Aberdeenshire for a man trapped in his vehicle amid severe flooding.
The coastguard and police are searching an area near Marykirk, which is near the North Esk river, after the alarm was raised in the early hours of Friday.
A Police Scotland spokeswoman said: “Around 3am on Friday October 20, 2023, police received a report of a man within a vehicle trapped in floodwater near Marykirk.
“Multi-agency searches are ongoing and the public are asked to avoid the area for their safety.”
Angus Council has said it is in the middle of a "very serious emergency" with "completely unprecedented" levels of water submerging the town.
Rescue crews are now dealing with more than 100 calls from areas which were asked to evacuate on Thursday evening.
Many people are reportedly trapped in their homes with boats struggling to reach them due to the severity of flooding.
Those that have reached the rest centre at Brechin Community Campus are largely turning up in wet clothes. The council has issued an urgent plea for warm clothing if anyone who lives nearby is able to reach the site safely.
First Minister Humza Yousaf said on Friday morning: “I cannot stress how dangerous conditions are in Brechin in particular.”
Brechin councillor Jill Scott added: “It’s horrific. It’s just absolutely horrendous. I’ve never seen anything like it.
"People will have lost everything."
On Thursday afternoon, a 57-year-old woman died after being swept into a river in Angus amid the evacuation of 400 homes in the Scottish region.
