Life-threatening flooding from heavy rain as amber warning issued

Scots have been told to consider if their journeys are “really necessary” amid a warning of life-threatening flooding.

The Met Office has issued an amber weather alert for flooding and heavy rain presenting a danger to life across the weekend.

The Scottish Government’s Multi-Agency Response Team will be operating while the warning is in force.

“Our advice is to plan ahead and consider if your journey is really necessary or if it can be delayed until conditions improve,” said chief superintendent Hilary Sloan, head of Scotland’s road police.

Insight

Up to three weeks of rain to fall over the weekend

Sean Batty

Prolonged downpours are expected to lead to widespread disruption across central Scotland from early on Saturday morning.

STV meteorologist Sean Batty warned that up to three weeks of rain could fall from Saturday into Sunday.

Flood alerts have been issued across 14 areas of the country by the Scottish Environment Proctection Agency.

It comes after the Met Office issued multiple yellow warnings throughout the week.

Amber and yellow @metoffice weather warnings are in place from midnight.

Heavy rain is expected across parts of Scotland this weekend, with a risk of flooding.#PlanAhead before travelling.

Stay #WeatherAware ➡️ https://t.co/sa4eyhEUtY pic.twitter.com/67IeTX37hd
— Transport Scotland (@transcotland) October 6, 2023

Fast flowing or deep floodwater will present a danger to life, forecasters said, with some communities becoming cut off by flooded roads.

The amber warning for rain covers Inverclyde, Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow, North Lanarkshire, East and West Dunbartonshire, Argyll and Lochaber, parts of Stirling, Perthshire, Aberdeenshire and the Highlands.

It comes into force at 3am on Saturday and continues until 6am on Sunday. A yellow warning for rain remains in place for large parts of central and northern Scotland throughout Saturday until early on Sunday morning.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) called the weather a “major rainfall event”.

“We’re likely to see extensive river and surface water flooding impacts, including property flooding and widespread transport disruption,” Ruth Ellis, SEPA’s flood duty manager, said.

Homes and businesses are expected to be flooded and some buildings will suffer damage.

Train and bus services will likely be cancelled or delayed and driving conditions will be difficult.

Power cuts and loss of other services to some homes and businesses is also expected.

Scotland’s transport minister Fiona Hyslop urged people to plan their journeys before they set off.

“Motorists should make sure their routes are available, follow the travel advice from Police Scotland and drive in accordance with the conditions,” she said.

“The Traffic Scotland twitter/X page is regularly updated and the mobile website – my.trafficscotland.org – lets people get the latest information on the move.

“If you are planning to travel by train, ferry or plane, please check with your operators to see if the conditions are having any impact on your services.”

SEPA flood alerts are in place across: