Storm Brendan batters Argyll
Flooded streets, cancelled ferries and a car in danger of being swallowed by the sea were just some of the issues Storm Brendan caused this week.
Tobermory Main Street was like a loch on Monday night and motorists were warned to avoid the area.
Lasting damage seems to have been mitigated, however, as ‘businesses seemed to get their sandbags and flood barriers in time,’ one resident said the following day.
Also suffering during the high tide was Oban’s Columba Hotel and Bar Rio restaurant. Firefighters were in attendance on Monday night to pump out six inches of water from the flooded basement back into the sea.
Debris flung from the sea was also spread right across Oban’s Esplanade.
A number of homes in the Taynuilt and Glen Lonan area were left without power during the storm, and one home-owner reported 10 hours with no electricity.
In Port Appin, the tide rose so high that the Pierhouse Hotel had to evacuate its car park. One vehicle had to be left, however, despite efforts to contact its owner, the Reverend Dr Iain Barclay and get it moved. The tide washed into the car park too quickly for it to be rescued until Tuesday afternoon.
The minister’s wife Carilon later posted on Facebook: ‘A big thank you to everybody who helped in rescuing our car. Believe it or not, it started, was dry inside and took kindly to being towed out of all the stones.’
Traffic was brought to a standstill elsewhere in Argyll at high tide, with the road being closed at Inveraray bridge.
A video posted online, which has since been shared more than 6,700 times, warned: ‘If you’re heading through Inveraray, don’t bother until the tide goes out.’
It showed cars being battered by waves and the road starting to become severely flooded.
Glencruitten resident David Colthart got in touch with The Oban Times after his wind turbines recorded wind speeds of 98.2mph at 3.30pm on Monday.
And strong southwesterly winds continued into Tuesday, causing the Met Office to issue a yellow weather warning that day for the west coast of Scotland.