Flood alert issued for Caithness
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
An alert has been issued by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) of flooding in Caithness due to heavy rain this morning.
Mark Franklin, flood duty manager at SEPA, said: “Flood Alerts have been issued for Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen City, Caithness and Sutherland, Findhorn Nairn Moray and Speyside and Orkney due to heavy rain expected across coastal areas between 8am and 2pm [today, Thursday January 21). This could result in overflowing of small watercourses and surface water, leading to property flooding and essential travel disruption.
“Most at risk are northern-facing coastal communities, especially along the Buchan coastline. Strong winds will also cause coastal spray and wave overtopping around the coast from Shetland to Aberdeen.
“Regional Flood Alerts have been issued and people living and working in affected areas are advised to deploy flood defences if they have them. You can stay up to date with regional Flood Alerts and local Flood Warnings at sepa.org.uk/floodupdates
“SEPA is working 24/7 to monitor rainfall and river levels and is in close contact with the Met Office and other partners to review the forecasts, which are combined with local expertise from all regions of Scotland to understand and present the flooding risk. The most up-to-date information is always available on our website.”
Advice on what you can do to prepare for flooding can be found at floodlinescotland.org.uk
Be prepared and stay safe
- Don’t walk through flood water – 15cm of fast flowing water could be enough to knock you off your feet and hazards can be hidden under the water.
- Drive with care, and do not travel through deep fast flowing water. It only takes 30cm of fast flowing water to move an average family sized car.
- If you are walking beside rivers be extra careful of wet footpaths and possibly small watercourses in spate.
SEPA uses forecast weather information provided by the Met Office combined with its own observation of rainfall and river levels and advanced hydrological modelling to provide advance warning of flooding.
Regional Flood Alerts are early advice that flooding is possible across a wider geographical area. The purpose of the Alerts is to make people aware of the risk of flooding and be prepared. SEPA normally issue them 12 to 24 hours in advance of the possibility of flooding.
Flood Warnings are more locally specific and are issued for areas where SEPA has gauges on rivers to measure the exact river height. They are issued at shorter notice when it is more certain that a specific area will be affected.
How community spirit came to the fore during Operation Snowdrop
