Thunderstorm brings flooding chaos to businesses and travel
Flash flooding has caused chaos as thunderstorms led to major disruption to businesses and travel.
In Edinburgh, trains in and out of the city had to be halted and streets were turned into rivers when the downpour hit. Images on social media showed multiple streets awash with rain which also crept into homes, bars, and businesses.
Emergency services attended some incidents including under one bridge in Chesser, where the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service could be seen helping stuck vehicles.
Sunday’s stormy weather also caused a problem for shoppers in the new St James Quarter, which only opened last month.
One Twitter user, Jamie Cunningham,
pointed out “a couple of design flaws when it comes to rain”. Water could be seen dripping down windows and onto the balconies of the several floors to ground level.
At around 5.46pm, Scotrail tweeted to confirm trains between Helensburgh and Edinburgh would instead run between the coastal town “and Bathgate only” for safety reasons.
The rail firm said the track had been cleared shortly after 8pm.
One of the worst hit areas was Edinburgh’s Stockbridge, where businesses were forced to close on Raeburn Place.
Brenda Pearson, who owns Abacus Blinds and Curtains on the street, said: "It's absolutely devastating. There's some stock we will just have to bin – such as sample books that are £200 each. It's just a nightmare. We've been shut for so long over lockdown and now this. It's the last thing we need after being shut for so long.”
Mark Kennedy, owner of nearby printing shop Print Sponge, was alerted to the flood by friends who sent him a video of water gushing down the street.
He said: "We don't open on a Sunday, so I was at home and a couple of friends sent me videos saying, 'Have you seen Raeburn Place?'.
"We just have to get on with it. I'll be shut for at least a couple of days."
Shoppers heading for the Braehead Shopping Centre in Renfrewshire, meanwhile, were delayed by flooding on the slip road from the M8 motorway. Just a few miles away, there were similar blockages at Glasgow Airport.