Hundreds of people have been advised to flee their homes as Storm Babet descends on Scotland for the second consecutive day, bringing widespread misery and danger to the region.
Weather officials have issued dozens of warnings for the home nation, one of them severe, with local councils working to protect people by ordering evacuations from Brechin, a small town in Angus.
Burgh representatives have told more than 400 homes within the red weather warning area that they must leave “for their own safety” as Babet whips up vicious wind and rain.
Angus Council said it had worked with the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) to identify the areas “at most risk of flooding” due to the unprecedented rainfall.
The council has planned to relocate the hundreds of people they have identified as at risk in temporary shelters scattered throughout the area.
Angus Council said it had identified several hundred homes in Brechin alone, with dozens more nearby also included within the Sepa severe flood warning.
Representatives said in a statement: “As a result, we have identified approximately 335 homes in Brechin, and an additional 87 homes in Tannadice and Finavon where residents will be asked to evacuate for their own safety.”
People living in the affected areas have been advised to attend three “rest centres” officials have set up nearby.
The council plans to host “anyone who needs shelter or who has been asked to leave their home”.
Shelters opened for evacuees from 3pm in three areas: Brechin Community Campus, Montrose Sports Centre, and Forfar Community Campus.
In a follow-up statement, the council asked people planning to seek safety in one of the three centres to bring bedding, including sleeping bags, pillows, blankets and medication.
But some residents do not plan to make use of the council shelters, with one Brechin local staying in his home despite the evacuation order
John Stewart, 82, of Brechin, told the PA news agency he will not be leaving his home should the local authorities attempt to evacuate him.
Mr Stewart, who previously had a wall built around his garden to protect his home, said: “I won’t be leaving because my wife won’t go.”
Around 10,000 homes in Scotland lost power due to the storm, according to the Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN).
The energy provider said it has restored services to 7,000 homes and engineers were “working to reconnect” around 3,000 more properties.
Mass train cancellations have been imposed by ScotRail, expected to last from Thursday until Saturday.
The storm could bring up to 200mm to 220mm of rain in some areas of eastern Scotland, an amount close to the highest ever 24-hour total for a “rainfall day”, Met Office figures show.
