Image source, PA Media

Laura Demontis and her family opted to stay and are currently stranded in the first floor of their Brechin home, which is flooded downstairs.

They have no electricity and are awaiting rescue.

Ms Demontis tells BBC's Scotland editor James Cook: "I woke up at 04:30 in the morning because there was a sound.

"I looked outside and said 'Oh my. It has happened'.

"I made the wrong decision."

It's not just Scotland where Storm Babet is causing havoc, let's take a quick look at the impact it's having in England.

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Flooding hit Dundee as the Dighty Burn in the city's Balmossie area burst its banks earlier.

Houses adjoining the burn have been flooded and cars submerged after the water rose dramatically overnight.

The nearby West Pitkerro Industrial Estate was also flooded.

Pascal Lardet, the flood unit manager at the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, told a media briefing that we are only in the middle of the severe event.

He said flooding from rivers and surface waters across Scotland had happened as predicted.

There are 11 flood alerts and 16 local flood warning in place in Scotland as well as five severe flood warnings.

The focus is on the River South Esk in Angus where there has been extreme rainfall in the past 24 hours.

Lardet said one monitoring station had recorded 175mm of rainfall over 24 hours. The average monthly rainfall is 100mm to 130mm. So more than a month's rainfall has fallen in the past 24 hours.

Image source, Sopa Images

All trains between London and South Wales via Bristol Parkway are currently cancelled, say Great Western Railway, due to flooding on the line near Swindon.

A statement on their website reads: “Train services between London Paddington and Swansea via Bristol Parkway and Cardiff Central will be cancelled" and that "disruption is expected until 15:00" later today.

Simon King
BBC weather presenter and meteorologist

The new red warning issued by the Met Office for same areas of Angus and Aberdeenshire is valid from midnight through until midnight Saturday.

While the rain has eased across eastern Scotland, the impacts of the torrential rain of the last 36 hours is being felt with severe flooding.

The lull in the rain may feel like good news but unfortunately things could go from bad to worse as further heavy rain is set to move in on Saturday.

With the ground so saturated, an additional 70-100 mm of rain expected in Angus and Aberdeenshire - particularly over the Grampians – will quickly add to the high river levels.

The threat to life and property will continue which is why the Met Office have issued this second rare red warning.

A second person has died as Storm Babet brought high winds, torrential rain and severe flooding to parts of Scotland.

Police have confirmed that a falling tree hit a van near Forfar in Angus on Thursday evening, killing the 56-year-old driver.

Emergency services attended the scene of the incident on the B0127 at Whigstreet at about 17:05.

Officers said the man, who has not been named, was pronounced dead at the scene and the road remains closed.

Earlier, the body of a 57-year-old woman swept into a river in Angus was recovered on Thursday.

The Met Office has issued another "danger to life" red warning for the north east of Scotland starting from midnight and running through Saturday.

• UK weather warnings - Met Office, external

Image source, PA Media

River levels in Brechin are 4.4m higher than normal, Angus council says. The town and other parts of Angus are now only accessible by boat.

Rescue crews are dealing with over 100 calls from areas which were asked to evacuate yesterday.

In an update this morning, the local authority said it had been a "very challenging night".

It confirmed Brechin's flood defences were breached around 04:00 and said at current flood heights "gauges have become unreliable".

The council said more than 350 homes across Angus were contacted yesterday and advised to evacuate.

A spokesperson said: "We ask that if you are in danger of flooding, please don’t leave it too late. If asked to evacuate, please do so, as hard as it is."

The council say emergency centres in Brechin, Montrose and Forfar are open to all those in need in Angus. Pets are welcome too.

Mark Poynting
BBC News Climate and Science

It’s too early to say exactly how much climate change has to do with the rainfall hitting north-east Scotland.

The causes of storms are complex and are affected by many natural processes in the atmosphere. Stormy weather is, of course, relatively common in the UK.

But there are ways in which rising temperatures can affect storms.

Warmer oceans mean storms can pick up more energy, leading to higher wind speeds, while a warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture, leading to more intense rainfall. Rising sea levels also increase the risk of coastal flooding.

The UK has become wetter in recent decades, with greatest increases in rainfall in Scotland, the Met Office says, external. This trend is projected to continue as the world warms.

There has been no clear trend in maximum wind speeds of UK storms, although these may increase in future, according to the Met Office, external.

There is some evidence that climate change is affecting the position of the jet stream, a band of strong winds high in the atmosphere that is one of the main influences on UK weather.

Changes in the jet stream’s position would mean some regions become wetter and others drier, but exactly how this will play out is uncertain.

It’s also important to note that flooding is not just determined by the amount of rainfall – human factors like how land is used and the adequacy of flood defences also play a role.

·Four ways climate change affects extreme weather

·What will climate change look like near me?

Some roads in central and north-east Scotland have reopened, but many remain closed.

• The A9 at Dunkeld has now reopened in both directions, but is now under temporary traffic lights.
• The A7 has reopened in both directions at Langholm.
• In Inveraray, the A83 has reopened in both directions.
• The A84 has now reopened in both directions.
• The A836/ B9176 junction is now cleared, but water is still affecting the road.
• In Fort William, the Glen Nevis Road is closed due to fallen and unstable trees.
• The A90 Myrekirk and Swallow roundabouts in Dundee are still closed in both directions due to flooding.
• The A92 between Rathillet an Kilmany remains closed in both directions.
• In Perth, the A85 Huntingtower remains closed in both directions.
• The Tay Road Bridge, the Dornoch bridge and Forth Road bridge are all closed to high-sided vehicles.

Heavy rainfall across Staffordshire has led to several roads and walkways becoming very difficult to navigate, with heavy rain expected to continue for most of the day.

Storm Babet is currently battering huge swathes of Scotland but how much of an impact is it having on the rest of the UK?

England

An amber warning for rain has been issued for parts of northern England and the Midlands as the storm makes it's way through the country. The amber warning is an upgrade from the yellow alert issued on Wednesday as the damage caused by Storm Babet has so far resulted in cancelled trains, school closures and beaches to close.

Wales

Storm Babet has reached Wales and already this morning there have been severe traffic delays on the A55 Eastbound & Westbound, due to flooding. North Wales Fire and Rescue Service have said they've been called out to rescue cars stuck in floodwater since around 07:00.

Northern Ireland

Belfast has already experienced high levels of rainfall over the past few days and last night Met Office for Northern Ireland issued a yellow warning. They're saying there could be a small chance that homes may be flooded and that fast-flowing or deep floodwater could cause danger to life.

Image source, PA Media

Members of a Coastguard Rescue Team have been coming to the aid of families in Brechin this morning.

The River South Esk overwhelmed flood defences in the Angus town at around 04:00.

Overnight teams went door-to-door by torchlight in to help people leave homes that were flooded.

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Simon King
BBC weather presenter and meteorologist

The forecast rain in eastern Scotland, particularly within the red warning areas, has been for 200-250mm of rain.

Up to Friday morning, there has been around 170mm of rain in the Grampian hills within 36 hours, some parts having well over the whole of October’s expected rainfall.

While that figure is physical rain measured in a rain gauge, some radar estimates suggest there could have been as much as 250mm in the last 24 hours in Aberdeenshire.

The rain will keep coming through Friday morning in eastern Scotland before easing off during the afternoon.

However, further persistent and heavy rain is likely on Saturday and with the sheer volume of water making its way into the river systems, the number of flood warnings is only going to increase.

Most of the Storm Babet focus has, of course, been on the red weather warning areas of Perth and Kinross, Dundee, Angus and south Aberdeenshire. But the storm's effects are being felt much more widely.

Sarah Crowe, 44, from Stromness in the Orkney Islands, says it’s “the worst October for storms” she’s experienced in her 11 years living there.

She said: “We're seeing weather and disruptions to essential freight services normally reserved for January and February.

“We are used to the wind causing the odd day of ferry cancellations, but this is the second weekend in a row ferries have been cancelled for consecutive days, including the freight vessel from Aberdeen.

“It's causing increasing issues with fresh food and milk supplies and empty shelves are becoming more noticeable.

“With Storm Babet we are looking at potentially three-and-a-half days of ferry cancellations as the weather here is not set to improve until at least midday Sunday.

“Aside from connections to the mainland, it also causes cancellations of local ferries which are struggling to stay operational in good conditions and provide an essential link to the mainland for those on the northern islands.”

Image source, PA Media

In England, roads have been blocked, trains cancelled, and homes and businesses damaged.

An amber warning for rain has been issued from midday, covering parts of northern England and the Midlands, and is due to last until 06:00 BST tomorrow.

In the East Midlands, heavy rain has already caused flooding disruption across the region, with roads blocked by floods and fallen trees, and up to 100mm of water expected to fall.

Train services between Bristol and London have been cancelled or delayed due to flooding in Swindon, and in Cumbria a woman and a four-year-old girl were rescued from a car stuck in floodwater.

In Devon a beach bar was swept into the sea. Jesmond Park Academy school in Newcastle was forced to close after high winds damaged its roof, and a motor cruiser was saved from sinking after it was ripped from its pontoon in Guernsey.

Image source, PA Media

Scotland's First Minister Humza Yousaf has said he "cannot stress how dangerous" conditions in Brechin are.

He shared an update from Angus Council on X, formerly called Twitter, just before 08:00, external, saying the Scottish government was still in contact with them.

Yousaf said: "Listen to the advice below, it is for your own safety. Situation will worsen as rainfall continues."

Muriel Thomson decided to stay in her house in Mitchell Drive in Brechin despite the red weather warning and risk of floods hitting the Angus town.

At 6am this morning, the 78-year-old heard water coming into the garage next to her house and decided to evacuate.

She and her husband packed a bag and tried to drive to safety through the rising floodwater but their car got stuck.

"We thought for a horrible moment we were going to get trapped in it because we could not get the doors open," she said.

"It was quite terrifying. The car was full of water and it was freezing."

Muriel, who has lived in the house for 28 years, eventually managed to get the car to safety.

She said she had decided to stay in her home because it did not look like the flood prevention would be breached.

"I'm just horrified that I've been wrong," she said.

"I fell asleep and we weren't keeping an eye on it."

Councillor Jill Scott, who lives in Brechin, Angus, says the floods are "horrific" with people trapped and hundreds of homes flooded.

She told PA news agency that one family contacted her at around 05:00 after having to leave their ground floor flat in Nursery Park when it flooded.

They are trapped in the hallway upstairs and are huddling together for warmth, she said.

Ms Scott, who represents the Brechin and Edzell ward on Angus Council as an independent, said the family of three, including a woman in her 60s, her son and grandson, are unable to be rescued due to the force of the floodwater.

She said: "It's all white water running round there. It's like a river."