A MAJOR clean-up operation was under way in Scotland yesterday after a deluge of floodwaters forced hundreds of people from their homes and caused chaos on the roads and railways.
Torrential rain and strong winds battered the country on Sunday, and it continued into yesterday morning.
Forty elderly residents of a care home in Huntly, Aberdeenshire, were among those rescued in the middle of the night.
Click here to view pictures of flooding in StonehavenPolice believe the weather may have contributed to a crash on the A90 at Philorth, Aberdeenshire, that left a man in his sixties dead.
The North-east was the worst-hit during the deluge, but few areas of Scotland escaped entirely. Julie Cross, from Huntly, whose house was flooded, said: "It was like a river outside in the road. A fireman at one stage got swept off his feet."
Raymond Strachan, 55, also from Huntly, suffered about £10,000 of damage after his caravan and 4x4 car were destroyed. He said: "Everything is destroyed on the ground floor. There was between 4½ft and 5ft of water inside the house. I've never seen flooding like this before. It was a torrent."
Sandbags had been laid out and sodden carpets piled in gardens throughout Huntly to dry. Aberdeenshire councillor Joanna Strathdee, who lives in the town, described it as "devastation".
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency said the River Deveron, which passes near Huntly, had risen 8ft in 27 hours, taking it to the highest level since records began in 1959.
In Stonehaven High Street, the water was chest-high at one point. About 50 people were rescued from their homes, and others took refuge in upstairs rooms to escape the rising water.
David Fleming, chairman of Stonehaven Community Council, said conditions had been "horrendous".
Thirty stranded motorists were accommodated in Moray Council's rest centres at Keith, and the A941 road at Rothes was closed following a landslip.
The Met Office said parts of Aberdeenshire had received 53mm of rainfall between 9pm on Saturday and 9am yesterday – more than half the 83mm average for the entire month.
Grampian Fire and Rescue Service received more than 350 calls in 12 hours.
Appliances attended Meadows Care Home in Huntly, where all 40 residents were led to safety after the dining rooms and bedrooms flooded at 1:30am yesterday.
Bed-bound residents were taken to the Jubilee Hospital, while other residents went to a nearby hotel.
First Minister Alex Salmond, who visited Huntly, said: "Many people in Huntly and across the North-east have had a miserable night, and my thoughts are with everyone who has been affected by the flooding."
Environment minister Roseanna Cunningham said climate change had been responsible. "Flooding events such as these are likely to occur with increasing frequency," she warned.
