Angus residents told to stay at home as weather emergency worsens with road closures and flood warnings across county

The local authority has said that the county is in the middle of a very serious emergency, with unprecedented flooding is. Levels are over half a metre over the last highest ever and most roads are affected.

Currently no bus services are running

A spokesperson said: “The A90 is closed in both directions and is not passable for any have a go heroes.

“Do not travel! If you think you have an appointment, you don't! If you REALLY think you need to get to work, check with your boss. If you're a boss, please consider your employees and the need for them to attend work

“It has been a very challenging night, Brechin defences were breached around 04:00 this morning and the river levels are around 4.4m above normal levels. This is completely unprecedented and at these heights, gauges have become unreliable.

“We completely understand that it is very hard to leave your home but parts of Brechin, and increasingly other parts of Angus, are now only accessible via boat. Rescue crews are now dealing with around 100 calls from areas which were asked to evacuate yesterday evening.

“If you think that you are in danger of flooding, please don’t leave it too late. If asked to evacuate, please do so, hard as it is.

“Remember that the Met Office red warning remains in place until noon today (Friday, October 20) and rain will continue to fall well into Saturday, so conditions will continue to deteriorate for sometime.”

The council has also taken action to provide support for the most affected areas.

The spokesperson continued: "Rest centres have been set up at Brechin Community Campus, Montrose Sports Centre and Forfar Community Campus which are open to support anyone affected by Storm Babet and we are working closely with colleagues from Angus Health and Social Care Partnership to identify vulnerable residents who will require additional support. Pets are also welcome at our rest centres.

“Please see our Severe Weather Watch page - https://www.angus.gov.uk/eme.../severe_weather_weather_watch for more information and advice relating to Storm Babet, or follow us on social media.

“Please stay at home and stay safe, unless told to move.”

The A90 is closed between Dundee and Stonehaven due to the SEPA flood warning in place.

Due to updated severe flood warning guidance from SEPA ,Traffic Scotland has agreed with Police Scotland to close the A90 between Struan's Garage (Dundee) to Stonehaven (AWPR/A90/A92 Junction). Access for emergency vehicles and residents will remain northbound up to the A94 Forfar Junction and southbound up to the Brechin South junction. The closure must be implemented as soon as possible with Police Scotland providing assistance where appropriate.

Please note that the absolute closure points will be at the following points, this has been identified by SEPA’s severe flood warning maps.

• A90 crossover point at the unclassified access road to Carestone (Southbound)

• A90 crossover point at the unclassified road to Bogardo (Northbound)

Flooding is particularly bad around Finavon

Traffic is being diverted via the A9/A95 NB and A95/A9 SB

Local access will remain in place.

Police Scotland has also said that the A937 is closed at the Marykirk Bridge, Marykirk.

The Marykirk Bridge is not passable from either the Aberdeenshire or Angus side and it’s requested that the area is avoided until further notice.

A further 3 Severe Flood Warnings have been issued for areas along the South Esk and North Esk.

In addition to river flooding, surface water will become a significant issue resulting in property flooding and impacts to road and rail infrastructure.

Follow advice of emergency responders.

There are now four Severe Flood Warnings in place. Check all Alerts and Warnings at https://floodline.sepa.org.uk/floodupdates/