Rescue drama as storm batters country
Trees blown down by Storm Kathleen narrowly missed a house and demolished a garden shed and greenhouse in the Drumbrae area of Edinburgh
Four young paddleboarders were rescued by a lifeboat crew as Storm Kathleen caused widespread disruption across Scotland this weekend.
A search was launched after Buckie’s RNLI was alerted by Aberdeen Coastguard to reports of paddleboarders in the waters off Cullen Bay, near Moray, at around 3.45pm on Saturday.
Amid strong-easterly winds of around 46mph, the lifeboat arrived on the scene, near the Bow Fiddle Rock landmark, in around ten minutes, locating two girls who had managed to stay on their paddleboard.
A second pair were spotted in the water a few minutes later, with the crew successfully recovering another two “very cold and relieved youngsters”.
They had been in the water for more than 20 minutes with just wetsuits on and were assessed by the crew’s carers before being checked over by the waiting Scottish Ambulance Service. All four were given the all-clear and sent home.
The incident happened as the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) warned of a further storm surge in coastal areas yesterday.
The agency said 18 regional flood alerts and 35 flood warnings remained in place yesterday afternoon.
Anne Scott, lifeboat operations manager, said: “The RNLI urges people to check the weather forecast carefully before venturing out on the water, especially when paddleboarding.
“Avoid offshore winds as you can easily be blown out to sea very quickly and offshore winds will tire you quickly when trying to return to shore.
“Always wear a personal flotation device and suitable clothing and always carry a means of calling for help.”
According to Sepa, significant flooding remains possible into today, in particular in the Western Isles and Orkney.
Sepa also warned of river flooding on Tuesday in southern, central and north-east Scotland.
Storm Kathleen also continued to disrupt the transport network yesterday, with rail and ferry services affected in the west of Scotland.
Train services from Largs, Ardrossan and Kilwinning were cancelled, as well as Helensburgh and Dumbarton.
Network Rail said “large waves are coming over the sea wall at Saltcoats and affecting our 25,000 volt overhead electricity cables”, with trains unable to run through the area until conditions improved.
Ferries from Oban, Ardrossan, Ullapool and many islands were cancelled, while others faced delays, with passengers urged to check the status of sailings, external and to allow extra time for their journey. Amended timetables were expected to be operating on some routes todayy.
In Edinburgh, one resident shared images showing a neighbour’s shed and greenhouse crushed by trees blown down by the high winds. Donna Brown, who lives in the Drumbrae area said two trees had come down, “demolishing the neighbours’ garden hut and greenhouse and narrowly missing their house”.
Check the weather forecast carefully before venturing out on the water Anne Scott, lifeboat operations manager