Scottish flooding: Heavy rain causes road disruption and puts homes at risk

Heavy rain and flooding have caused disruption across Scotland.

Firefighters in Perthshire were dealing with a major flooding incident at Comrie, near Crieff, where the Water of Ruchill burst its banks.

About 100 homes in the village were said to be at risk from the flooding, with some residents being evacuated.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) issued flood warnings and alerts covering large areas of the country.

Officials from Perth and Kinross Council, Tayside Police and 10 pumps from Tayside Fire and Rescue Service attended the flood in Comrie.

An estimated 100-150 tons of debris was spread across one part of the A83 in Argyll

A rest centre was set up at Strathearn Community Campus in Crieff and another centre was also open at Comrie Community Centre.

A Red Cross spokesman said Dundee-based volunteers helped more than 20 people who were evacuated from their properties, including elderly people from two care homes.

The village was badly flooded in August, when the river previously burst its banks.

Roseanna Cunningham, MSP for Perthshire South and Kinross-shire, visited the village and described the situation as "absolutely awful".

She added: "I really feel for the people of Comrie.

"This is the second time in just a few short months that the Ruchill has flooded and there is no doubt that this event has been very much worse than August's flood was.

"There is a lot of very understandable frustration and anger that this has happened again and the council really needs to get on top of this and ensure that there is no further flooding."

The leader of Perth and Kinross council, Ian Miller, said Kinross Council had deployed 30 officers to Comrie on Monday and many of them would be remaining there overnight.

Meanwhile, the Rest and Be Thankful section of the A83 in Argyll has reopened after being shut after a landslip.

An estimated 100-150 tons of debris was spread across the road and torrential rainfall blocked the drainage system, causing severe flooding on the road surface.

Falling debris has closed the road five times in five years.

A taskforce has been set up to look at finding a permanent solution to the problem. The usual diversion can add up to 50 miles to some journeys.

Roddy McCuish, leader of Argyll and Bute Council, said: "Our businesses and people living here suffer every time the main route into Argyll and Bute is closed."

In Aberfoyle, flooding led to the main street being completely closed in both directions, and the school was also shut. Properties in the town were also flooded.

Central Scotland Fire and Rescue Service said properties had been flooded in Dunblane and Callander.

Other roads shut due to the heavy rain included the A907 near Stirling, between Causewayhead Road and the Manor Powis roundabout.

Properties and roads in Aberfoyle were badly affected by flooding

In Dumfries and Galloway, the A714 was shut near the junction with the B7027 and the A762 between New Galloway and Allan Gibbon Bridge.

And the road across the Cree Bridge in Newton Stewart was closed to traffic and pedestrians after the river burst its banks. Eight people needed to be rescued from flats in the town.

Parts of the Whitesands area in Dumfries flooded early in the afternoon.

Flooding also closed the A814 in both directions at Rhu, between Helensburgh and Faslane, while some train services in the Wemyss Bay area were disrupted.

Network Rail said it was tackling some flooding issues in the west of Scotland. Water was above rail level at Bishopton and ScotRail said trains between Glasgow and East Kilbride were disrupted by flooding at Thornliebank station.

Ferry operator CalMac has listed several cancellations including ferries between Wemyss Bay and Rothesay, Mallaig and Armadale, and Ardrossan and Brodick.