DEVASTATED... BY A BOLT FROM THE BLUE
A MAJOR clean-up operation was launched yesterday after storms lashed Scotland, leaving towns and villages under water.
Torrential rain and thunderstorms caused serious flooding, closing dozens of roads and damaging property.
A total of 17,000 lightning strikes were recorded during a 12-hour period between Tuesday night and yesterday morning.
The Met Office has warned there could be more flooding and thunderstorms into the weekend.
On the roads, vehicles were recovered after they were abandoned amid flooding on the M8, which was partly closed during the worst of the weather. In Midlothian, parts of the A68 near Fala had collapsed, leaving the road impassable.
All of Scotland was under a yellow Met Office ‘be aware’ warning throughout Tuesday, but this was upgraded last night to amber ‘be prepared’ status across Grampian, Dumfries and Galloway, Lothians, the Scottish Borders, Central, Tayside and Fife.
In Falkirk, homes were struck by lightning, causing fires.
A police spokesman said: ‘We were made aware of flooding on the M8 between junctions 5 and 6 in Lanarkshire shortly before 4am on Wednesday.’
A Transport Scotland spokesman said: ‘We would urge the public to check before they travel and drive to the conditions if they have to drive.’
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) was called to reports of flooding in Perthshire, with many homes affected. Between 10pm on Tuesday, and 8am yesterday, the SFRS Operations Control room in Edinburgh received more than 500 emergency calls, including one to a landslide at a caravan park in Pettycur, Fife, that affected nearly 500 caravans. Crews helped in the rescue of 27 holidaymakers and the relocation of 218 people.
Ross Haggart, deputy chief officer of the SFRS, said: ‘We received an incredibly high number of calls, one of the busiest nights the service has seen this year.’
Fife was one of the worst-hit areas, with a landslide causing the closure of the A921 between Kinghorn and Burntisland.
Perth and Kinross Council said several roads in the area were impassable due to flooding. Pictures shared on social media showed cars half-submerged in floodwater in streets in Perth.
ScotRail said services would be delayed or cancelled due to ‘extremely heavy rain’ and flooding on the railway network.
Hundreds of pupils who were scheduled to start their first day of secondary education at Perth High School were told at the last minute to stay away.
Met Office spokesman Oli Claydon said: ‘Thunderstorms are challenging for forecasters – we know the conditions are there for them to develop, but they can develop rapidly and with short notice.’
His colleague, forecaster Bonnie Diamond, added: ‘Yellow thunderstorm warnings will remain in place until Sunday, affecting most of the UK.’