04 January 2016

Flood effort spreads to Garioch as wet weather continues

Kintore and Inverurie have become the latest communities to be affected by the wet weather and flooding that continues to be experienced across the north-east.

Rising water levels saw rest centres opened in Kintore Public Hall and Inverurie Academy on Sunday night, with one property in Kintore being directly affected by flooding.

The rest centres were re-opened this evening (Mon) as rising water levels saw properties hit by flooding in low-lying areas of Port Elphinstone and evacuation of a number of properties. 

A further 2,000 sandbags have been made available at the council depot on Harlaw Way, Inverurie, to help residents protect their properties, with more sandbags being placed in key areas of Port Elphinstone and Kintore. The council is grateful to volunteers and residents who filled sandbags on site. 

Meanwhile, flood recovery efforts continue in Deeside. Significant efforts were made to boost defences in Ballater on Sunday through the creation of a sandbag barrier along the western edge of the town.

In Braemar, British Telecom has successfully re-established phone lines for households in the town and the Crathie area.

Aboyne was the subject of further flooding today, with both the town’s Bonty Court sheltered housing complex and Allachburn Care Home being evacuated. The Maryculter caravan park was flooded for a second time, although no residents are currently at the site.

Aberdeenshire Council has pledged to provide advice and support to help protect Abergeldie Castle, near Crathie, which is at risk after land next to the River Dee collapsed.

Council engineers have visited the site to establish what action might be taken to help protect the building from being claimed by the river.

Chief Executive of Aberdeenshire Council Jim Savege said: “The ongoing rainfall is causing challenges for a number of our communities, but the support being provided by the emergency services, partner agencies and public volunteers and groups continues to be first class.

“We are conscious of those who have been directly affected by flooding or the impact of damage to roads and bridges and I would like to assure people that we will be looking to carry out repairs as a matter of priority as soon as conditions allow.

“We are also looking to play our part in helping protect the historic Abergeldie Castle through the expertise of our engineers and other staff. We are keen to explore anything we can do to prevent further loss of historic Aberdeenshire landmarks.”

Assessments of routes and structures damaged by Storm Frank have been undertaken and plans for repairs are being developed.

Priorities include repairing the collapsed section of the A93 near Crathie, repairs to the damaged Invercauld road bridge, as well as re-opening routes serving Braemar.

Motorists are urged to respect road closure signs that are in place on a number of routes across the area, both for their own safety and the safety of others. This is particularly important near the collapsed section of road on the A93.