Scotland's latest spate of heavy downpours is continuing to cause chaos on the country's roads – with one resident taking to social media to share images of a caravan that had floated onto a nearby road in Edinburgh.
Edinburgh Live reports that Andy Sharp shared the picture of the boarded-up motorhome on a road in the city, seemingly carried there after floodwaters had built up and taken it downstream. The capital and wider Lothians region have been the subject of yellow weather warnings towards the end of the week, with heavy downpours reported on Thursday and Friday.
Posting the photo on the Colinton Village Residents Facebook group, Andy said: "Watch out if heading towards the Cattery on Woodhall Road - road flooded near where City Dogs was and there is a caravan floating in the middle of the road."
Disruption is still being experienced on roads and railways across the country. The West Coast Mainline has been closed due to landslips at Carstairs, with passengers advised to find alternate ways of travelling up and down from England, while Scotrail has laid on replacement bus services as engineers struggle to drain waterlogged tracks.
The inclement conditions, caused by a "bomb cyclone" that sent temperatures plunging in the US before touching down on thsi side of the Atlantic, aren't over either. A yellow weather warning for ice is in place across the Highlands, Moray and Aberdeenshire until 11am on New Year's Day, while similar warnings for snow in the central belt and borders will run from the end of New Year's Eve until late morning or midday.
Environment bosses are still recommending that people avoid travelling where possible – taking care to avoid driving through flood waters if they absolutely must move around on Hogmanay. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency says it had 10 regional flood alerts, 29 local flood warnings and a severe flood warning in place for Dumfries on Friday.
Water levels on the River Nith, near the Borders town, were at the highest ever recorded, above even those of the calamatious Storm Frank in 2015. Marc Becker, Sepa flood duty manager, said on Saturday: "Whilst across Hogmanay and New Year’s Day we’re seeing an improving picture, we’ll see rain, sleet and snow on higher grounds, particularly across the Bells.
"With residual impacts on the ground, particularly in Southern and Central Scotland, we’re encouraging people living, working and travelling to remain vigilant, steer clear of flood water and follow the latest information from SEPA, transport authorities and Police Scotland."
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