Landslide-hit A83 remains closed after flooding

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A83 clean-upImage source, Bear Scotland
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Work to remove thousands of tonnes of debris from the A83 in Argyll and Bute is under way

An update on when the A83 in Argyll and Bute will fully reopen is expected on Wednesday.

Road management operator Bear Scotland said about 12,000 tonnes of material had been removed from the road which was hit by seven landslides.

Further checks will be made on Wednesday before a decision is made on when the road will be safe to open.

More heavy rain hit areas of west and central Scotland on Tuesday as clear-up operations were under way.

A Met Office yellow warning for rain in Argyll, Glasgow, Falkirk, Perth and Kinross, Stirling and the West Highlands was in place until 21:00 on Tuesday.

The warning came after large swathes of Scotland saw about a month's worth of rain on Saturday.

It brought severe flooding to parts of Argyll, Angus, Perth, Aberdeenshire, Moray and the Highlands.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency said 15 flood warnings and nine flood alerts were still in place around the country.

According to Bear Scotland, a total of seven landslides reached the A83 and a further four were captured in pits and nets along the side of the road.

Only the Ardgartan to Inveraray section of the route remains closed.

Image source, Bear Scotland
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Saturday's rain has brought floods and landslips along the A83

Bear Scotland's Ian Stewart said: "Our teams have worked at pace, whenever it was deemed safe, to clear the roads and return full access to residents of Argyll.

"We understand that access in and out of Argyll is vital for local communities, and we will provide an update on Wednesday once the rain has passed."

Highland Council said it was dealing with a landslip at Drimnin on the B849.

Engineers carried out an assessment to see if the road was structurally safe for traffic before deciding to close it to HGVs.

The road will then be closed to all traffic from 09:00 on Wednesday for two-hour periods with 30-minute "amnesties" while repairs are carried out.

Image source, PA Media
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The River Spey flooded near Aviemore

Network Rail Scotland said the line between Dunblane and Perth would remain closed on Tuesday while it worked to repair a "huge amount" of flood damage but is due to reopen on Wednesday morning.

Emergency services are still searching for a 77-year-old man feared to have been swept away by the River Tay during heavy rain in Perthshire.

Residents in Perth were among those who suffered the most from the heavy rain and flooding.

Fire crews spent Monday pumping water from houses as people tried to salvage their belongings.

Bell's Sports Centre as well as basement flats and businesses on Rose Terrace and Charlotte Street were flooded in the downpours.

Image source, Getty Images
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Workers put in place flood defences in the North Inch area in Perth over the weekend

As a result of the heavy rain, Scotland's farmers have said they have suffered some of the biggest losses in food crops the industry has ever seen.

Farming union NFU Scotland said millions of pounds worth of unharvested vegetables, potatoes and other crops had been damaged by the flood waters.

One farm, Stewarts of Tayside, estimates that about half a million pounds worth of food crops destined for supermarkets had been ruined across 60 hectares of its land.