Flood fears set to stay

Last week’s protracted rainfall brought difficulties for many Borderers, and there’s more unsettled weather to come, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency has warned.
By Kevin Janiak
Published 3rd Jan 2023, 12:32 BST
Updated 3rd Jan 2023, 12:32 BST
The swollen Ettrick meets the raging Tweed over the weekend. Photo: Grant Kinghorn.The swollen Ettrick meets the raging Tweed over the weekend. Photo: Grant Kinghorn.
The swollen Ettrick meets the raging Tweed over the weekend. Photo: Grant Kinghorn.

Scotland’s flood forecasting and warning authority is advising Borderers to keep updated, be mindful of potential disruption, and plan ahead for any travel across the period to the weekend.

The guidance comes after last week’s significant flooding in the run-up to New Year which saw SEPA issue 10 Regional flood alerts, 29 local flood warnings and a severe flood warning in place for Dumfries.

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Impacts across the country were significant, with levels at the River Nith being the highest ever recorded.

The Tweed, too, reached peak river level, and while those levels are expected to be well below those experienced last week, given the saturated nature of the ground, minor disruption is likely on some transport routes with isolated property flooding in places.

The Teviot was also very high in Hawick, although the flood defences still being installed there did their job.

However, a Hawick restaurant has been forced to close its doors “until further notice” after a flooding incident at the venue.

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Staff at The Night Safe at 12 High Street found the eatery’s kitchen flooded when they went into work on Wednesday, December 28, while the restaurant’s entire extraction system and equipment had been either damaged or destroyed.

After consulting with their insurers the owners have been forced to close up for the rest of this week.

A spokesperson said: “We cannot apologise enough to all our customers booked in for this week.”

Marc Becker, flood duty manager at SEPA, said: “Across New Year’s week we’ll see Scotland face a further period of unsettled weather.

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"Prolonged rainfall on Tuesday and Wednesday, combined with melting snow, is likely to see minor river and surface water flooding, across the country, with the potential for impact on transport routes.

“We’re urging people to keep updated, register for SEPA’s free Floodline messaging service, be mindful of potential disruption, and plan ahead for any travel across the period to the weekend.”​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Related topics:BorderersScotlandHawickDumfries