CHARLES’S ANGUISH FOR VICTIMS OF THE STORM
Prince ‘devastated’ by worst floods in a generation as he comforts villagers living near Royals’ Balmoral home
A ‘DEVASTATED’ Prince Charles yesterday visited beleaguered families whose homes were engulfed when the fiercest storm in a generation flooded a village near his Scottish estate. The Duke of Rothesay and wife Camilla made a rare unscheduled visit to Ballater to share their condolences with close neighbours living in a disaster zone after bearing the brunt of Storm Frank.
On their way to nearby Birkhall, Aberdeenshire, to celebrate New Year, the royal couple even offered the services of their chefs to help prepare food for those left homeless.
The visit was welcomed by villagers on Royal Deeside, who woke up to ruined homes, abandoned cars and the wreckage of caravans smashed against houses by the flood water.
One local said the Prince was totally ‘devastated’ by what had happened,
while Charles told another resident that ‘his heart went out to them’. On the day the massive clean-up began:
The body of a kayaker in his fifties, killed on rapids whipped up by the storm, was pulled from the River Findhorn;
Two men were taken to Raigmore Hospital, Inverness, in a serious condition after falling from a canoe on the River Garry, close to the village of Invergarry, Inverness-shire;
Almost 100 people in Ballater faced a homeless Hogmanay, with many forced to celebrate in a makeshift shelter set up within an Army barracks;
Furious businesses said they were considering closing because of broken promises over flood defences.
Storm Frank, when it hit in the early hours of Wednesday, was described by the authorities as the worst storm seen in Scotland for more than 20 years.
The quaint Royal Deeside village of Ballater was among the worst-hit areas. The Clunie Water, a tributary of the River Dee, burst its banks, cutting residents off for a time.
But the destruction failed to prevent the Duke and Duchess of Rothesay heading north for Hogmanay yesterday. They stopped in Ballater first, arriving on the spur of the moment at around 2.30pm.
Prince Charles, dressed in khaki trousers and a wax jacket, visited a soup kitchen set up to help families forced from their homes by the storm, before walking through the wrecked village with parish minister the Rev David Barr to talk to local people.
One businessman he spoke to said that the Prince was ‘devastated’ at what had happened to the village, and had spoken of his beloved two-acre organic garden at Birkhall, which had been ‘ruined’ by the flood water.
But Charles had said the damage was nothing compared with the rest of the destruction he had viewed elsewhere.
Royal sources have told the Scottish Daily Mail that the Prince also offered
‘He was devastated. He couldn’t believe it’
practical support, with the chefs from his kitchen at Birkhall helping to cook food for those forced from their homes.
His charity, Scottish Business in the Community, has worked with companies to provide food and home supplies.
One of those hit hard by the floods was Royal butcher HM Sheridan, granted the Royal Warrant by the Queen and Prince Charles in 1987. Earlier in the day, director John Sinclair had become visibly upset as he spoke about the £40,000 of stock he had lost overnight to the storm.
The 50-year-old had popped out of his shop when the Duke and Duchess or Rothesay arrived and was surprised when he walked back in to find them there.
He said: ‘As soon as I came in the door Camilla came across and said, “I’m so sorry, John, to hear your tragedies” and “It must have been terrible”.
‘I told them the story of how the water had risen from 9.30am until the time we left at 10.30am. The Prince couldn’t believe it himself.
‘I asked how Birkhall was. He said Birkhall was OK although the garden was devastated, but that was the least of his worries.’
Mr Sinclair added: ‘Charles was just concerned about the whole village basically. He was devastated, he couldn’t believe it.
‘He had a walk up the road and visited a few of the residents in the houses. He is part of the village anyway.
‘He did offer that if we were short of food he would supply us with some food. He had a wee laugh to himself.’
The heir to the throne was shown a video of a caravan ripped from its fixtures at Ballater Caravan Park floating along the River Dee yesterday.
Prince Charles described the scenes from Wednesday as ‘hellish’.
Close to a month’s-worth of rain fell on the Aberdeenshire village in only 36 hours, with families in Anderson Road, Deebank Road and Albert Road evacuated from their homes by dinghy.
Three firefighters sent to help victims had to be rescued themselves as the water rose at an alarming rate, with part of the A93 from Braemar into the village collapsing under the weight of water.
Last night 96 people remained homeless because of the flood damage, with many expected to see in 2016 spending their second night at Victoria Barracks – home to the Royal Guard when the Queen is in residence at Balmoral.
One of those evacuated to the barracks, 77-year-old Ernie McIntosh, ventured back to his house yesterday and said he was ‘shocked’ by the destruction left in the powerful storm’s wake.
Recalling the emergency evacuation, he said: ‘Within 20 minutes, the water was over my wellingtons. The speed of it was unbelievable. We walked 250 yards guided by our rescuers, and by the time we got that far it was up above my waist.
‘At one point I was considerably worried. They called in a JCB and
‘In minutes it was waist high’
the ladies got into the bucket and the men got into the cab and they took us to dry land.’
Ian Mitchell, 68, and his wife Gina, 74, saw the water reach several feet high inside their living room and kitchen. They were rescued by boat. Mr Mitchell said: ‘We’ve lived in this house 25 years. There has never been anything like this.’
His wife added: ‘It came that quickly, the Dee just burst its banks and within minutes we were waisthigh in water. We went upstairs. We took as much as we could but the water came up so quick, there was nothing you could do.
‘It was terrible. It’s your home. You just don’t realise how bad things can get until it happens to you.’
Dawn Rennie, 57, spoke to Prince Charles as she was clearing out her flooded house in Ballater.
She and her partner were due to move into the property which they have been working on for months.
Miss Rennie said: ‘We’ve been renovating for a year and were due to move in today.
‘I told the Prince that and he was asking if it was going to be salvageable. He was really concerned and really lovely.
‘He was speaking about Cockermouth, Cheshire and the other places where he had been.
‘It was a pleasure. I felt like he really did care – but he drew the line at helping with the mopping up.’
Karen Emslie, 33, was at work when her partner Graeme Miller phoned to tell her that the house they share with son Bryce, ten, and seven-year-old Maddie had flooded.
The property, which they rent from Miss Emslie’s sister, was wrecked when a surge of dirty water broke through the doors and swamped the ground floor.
She said: ‘When I went to work everything was fine but then my mum phoned me to say that there
were men going around telling people that the river banks were about to burst.
‘Not long after that I got a phone call from my partner who said, “Get home now, we’re flooded”.
‘There were people going round with sandbags but we didn’t get them in time.
‘There was nothing but then two minutes later it was just tragic.’
Miss Emslie’s carpets, freshly laid only a few weeks ago, will now have to be lifted to let the floorboards dry out.
The central heating oil tank in the garden ended up floating in the water – leaving the family without heating as the temperature sat just above freezing yesterday.
Also visiting Ballater yesterday was Deputy First Minister John Swinney, who said the Scottish Government will consider emergency funding for local authorities, including Aberdeenshire Council, to help clear up storm damage.
He also raised the possibility of letting homeowners off their council tax for the period that they are unable to return to their homes.
Mr Swinney said: ‘Other than bereavement, I think flooding is about the worst thing that happens to members of the public. It turns their lives upside down.
‘It is horrendous at any time of the year, but it is particularly bad at the festive season.’
The bad news from the floods kept on coming yesterday, with Police Scotland confirming that the body of a male kayaker in his fifties had been pulled from the River Findhorn in Moray at around 9am.
He is believed to have got into trouble near an area known as Elephant Rock, where the volume and speed of water are known to be particularly hazardous even in normal weather.
The victim, from Aberdeenshire, has not yet been named, although his family have been told.
Police were also called yesterday at around midday after two men fell from their canoe on the River Garry.
One of the men managed to guide himself to shore, while the other was swept downstream where he was found by emergency services and airlifted by a Royal Navy search and rescue helicopter.
Both men were taken to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness, where they were in a serious condition last night.
Despite Storm Frank having blown itself out, chaos remains on the country’s railways.
Yesterday there was disruption on the Highland mainline between Perth and Inverness, which is expected to last until January 10.
Rail passengers had to get off trains and board buses between the Highland capital and Perth, or were forced to add around two hours to their journeys by travelling via Aberdeen.
Unfortunately the poor weather is predicted to continue, with five flood warnings still in place across Scotland last night.
Further heavy rain is expected in the North-East until Monday, with up to four inches forecast in the Grampian region.
In Ballater, those already suffering from the Storm Frank deluge will again be battening down the hatches.
‘I felt like he really did care’