The search for a woman swept into the burgeoning swell of the River Don in Aberdeenshire while attempting to rescue her dog has been “stood down” after heavy rain and flooding battered much of eastern Scotland on Friday.
In a statement, Police Scotland said last night: “Around 3.05pm on Friday, 18 November, police were called to the River Don near to Monymusk following a report of concern for a woman in the water.
“Police and emergency services attended and searches were carried out. Following assessments of the river conditions, the search has been stood down for the evening. Police inquiries are ongoing.”
The Independent has contacted the force for an update on the incident this morning.
The coastguard also confirmed they had paused their search to continue with other tasks.
It comes after more than a month’s worth of rainfall, totalling 140mm, fell in Charr in Aberdeenshire on Thursday.
A severe amber warning was in place until 9pm on Friday, covering an area running from Aberdeenshire to just north of Dundee, where meteorologists warned of a “danger to life from fast-flowing or deep floodwater”.
Shocking footage and images also showed at least one driver losing control of a car in deep floodwater at a normally busy road junction in the capital Edinburgh. Parts of the M92 to Dundee and M9 to Stirling were among those brought to a standstill by the conditions.
Rail services in some of the worst affected places were still unable to run on Saturday morning, with operator ScotRail saying the “extreme rainfall” means it is “unlikely” trains in some areas will restart before 12pm.
After “yesterday’s extreme rainfall, services on the Fife Circle & between Aberdeen & Dundee are unlikely to start before noon today”, it tweeted.
Staff from Network Rail need to assess conditions on the rails in daylight, it added.
Torrential rain hit much of the northeast of Scotland, with roads and rail travel impacted, schools closed and centres set up for those unable to stay in their homes.
Power cuts also affected areas including Inverurie, Kintore, Stonehaven, Portlethen and Hatton of Fintray, as the Met Office said over a month’s rain had fallen in Charr in Aberdeenshire, with the total recorded as 140 millimetres.
There was localised flooding in some parts of Edinburgh, with pictures showing the Crewe Toll roundabout in the west of the city submerged.
On Friday evening, the justice secretary and lead minister for resilience, Keith Brown, chaired a meeting of the Scottish Government’s resilience committee.
Flooding in Edinburgh on Friday
He said: “The Scottish Government’s resilience arrangements have been activated to ensure preparations and appropriate measures are in place, and we will continue to monitor the situation over the course of the weekend.
“We are in close contact with resilience partners, local authorities and the emergency services to ensure people in the affected areas receive the latest information, advice and support where needed.”
With additional reporting from PA
A motorist drives along a flooded road in Mountsorrel, Leicestershire
