Rest centres have been opened in some parts of Scotland after flood warnings were escalated to severe on Friday.
The north east 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.
Power cuts have been reported across Aberdeenshire by SSE Networks, which manages Scotland's electricity grid; outages have been logged near Stonehaven, in Ballater, Kemnay and Aberdeen. Aberdeenshire Council warned that river levels will peak later on Friday.
Businesses in the community have been opening their doors to locals needing somewhere to keep warm. Sandbag points have also been located around the region to protect from flood waters, and some broadband outages have been noted.
Issues in Ballater come just a few years after the town was cut off during Storm Frank in 2015. The River Dee burst its banks and pulled down much of the A93 road leading into the area. More than 100 homes were evacuated at the time.
Pictures provided to the Record of the town show its streets flooded, with the water so deep pavements and roads cannot be told apart. A snap taken from the Old Royal Bridge, the town's south-eastern entrance, shows the River Dee encroaching on the town's weather-ravaged edge.
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 140 millimetres.
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.
ScotRail has urged passengers to check journeys ahead of travel using their app or social media with some passengers being told not to travel. In a bid to demonstrate the issues the water presents to the railways, Network Rail shared images of flooding at Inverkeithing, which it is currently unable to drain because the nearest burn has burst its banks.
Posting pics of submerged tracks, the railway body said: "The line towards Edinburgh is currently closed. A nearby river has burst its banks, so we don’t have anywhere to pump the water to just now."
Police Scotland have warned drivers to plan ahead, be mindful of increased stopping distances and be prepared with warm clothing and sufficient fuel should they be delayed. On Friday evening, justice secretary and lead minister for resilience, Keith Brown, chaired a meeting of the Scottish Government’s resilience committee.
He urged members of the public to “take extra care” if they are out and about and not to attempt to walk or drive through flood water. the minister added: “We are in close contact with resilience partners, local authorities and the emergency services to ensure people in the affected areas receive the latest information, advice and support where needed.”
Scotland's environment body Sepa believes that more severe rains are on the way. Flood duty manager Vincent Fitzsimons said: "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.
"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."
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