Storm Dennis wreaks havoc

Emergency crews tackle floods

Storm Dennis wreaked havoc on Perthshire as it rampaged its way across the country over the weekend.

The A9 was temporarily shut, rail services were cancelled and emergency teams were deployed all over the county to tackle flooding issues.

But members of the community and local councillors have praised the work of emergency teams who worked flat out to unblock drains and avert disaster.

Torrential downpours led to the A9 being closed in both directions between Broxden and Keir roundabouts for around two hours on Saturday (February 15) night.

High and fast-flowing water at Mill O’Keir Viaduct near Dunblane led to the railway line between Stirling and Perth being closed on Sunday (February 16) until around 6pm.

ScotRail arranged replacement buses, and for customers to travel on selected Stagecoach bus services with their valid train ticket.

A ScotRail spokesperson said: “It was another very challenging weekend across Scotland’s railways, and we did everything we could to keep people moving throughout the severe weather brought by Storm Dennis.”

Meanwhile Perth and Kinross Council’s emergency helpline was jammed with reports of flooding across the Big Tree County with leaves clogging up drains leaving floodwater with nowhere to go.

Cllr Grant Laing spent Saturday doing what he could to drain floodwater in his local area and fielding phone calls from concerned constituents in his Strathtay ward.

He said: “Bankfoot and Dunkeld were worst hit. People could not get through to the emergency line.”

He questioned whether extra staff had been laid on by the council to answer phone calls and to deal with all the emergency callouts.

The SNP leader said: “It was a well publicised event. If you know something is coming, you should have something in place.”

He suggested the council response seemed more “reactive than pro-active” but went on to praise those who did rise to the occasion.

Cllr Laing told the PA, Caputh homes were saved from flooding when a council roads officer manning phone calls actually went and dealt with the issue himself due to manpower being so over-stretched.

Environment and infrastructure committee convener Cllr Angus Forbes travelled to Alyth, one of the worst affected parts of Perthshire.

The Carse of Gowrie Conservative councillor said: “Council staff along with Tayside Contracts worked right through the weekend dealing with the effects of Storm Dennis. Thankfully Perth and Kinross fared much better than other parts of the UK but there was still considerable flooding in some areas of the region.

“After I had been to check the typical flooding areas in my own ward, I was in Alyth on Saturday and was pleased to see the response from the local community who were assisting staff with moving sand bags. The river was very high but thanks to the efforts of staff and volunteers, no one was injured and no property was flooded.”

Sandy McCurdy of the Alyth Resilience Partnership, said: “Both the council and Tayside Contracts responded quickly when the water levels began to rise and acted quickly to start putting measures in place, including making sandbags available to those who needed them and I’d like to thank them for their efforts.

“I’d also like to thank the community volunteers who stepped up to help those who needed it and made sure that everyone was safe.

By working together we were in the best position to respond to the situation as it developed, and I’m grateful that in this case there was no significant damage and that everyone was safe.”

Meanwhile the River Earn once again burst its banks in Comrie with anyone hoping for a seat at the Boulevard needing to don a wetsuit to reach the benches surrounded by water.

A spokesperson for Perth and Kinross Council said: “Council officers and crews from Tayside Contracts, the operational arm of the council, worked across the weekend monitoring and responding to a number of incidents all across Perth and Kinross as a result of heavy rainfall throughout Saturday. Thankfully there were no significant flooding issues or property damage. We would like to thank the members of the community, particularly in Alyth, who were able to help out with delivering sandbags to where they were needed.

“We will continue to monitor the conditions across the whole region and respond to any incidents as quickly as we can. We expect the weather to continue to present a number of challenges and ask that residents stay safe and if possible, check in with any elderly or vulnerable residents.”