Ten people airlifted to safety after heavy rainfall in Scotland caused landslides onto roads

Ten people had to be airlifted to safety after they became trapped between landslides after torrential rainfall in Scotland[1].

Police Scotland said emergency services including HM Coastguard were called to the scene at Inveraray in Argyll and Bute on Saturday morning after motorists were cut off between two landslides on the A83.

It warned drivers not to travel to the region.

“We were called to reports of multiple landslides on the A83 and A815 on the morning of 7 October,” a Police Scotland spokesperson said, adding: “A number of vehicles were stuck between the landslides.

“Emergency services, including HM Coastguard, attended and 10 people were airlifted to safety.

“There were no reports of injuries. The roads remain closed and drivers are urged to avoid travel in the area.”

The A83 is closed between Tarbet and Lochgilphead due to multiple landslips. Our emergency partner @HMCoastguard have shared this image from their search and rescue helicopter at Cairndow. Drivers should avoid travelling in the Argyll and Bute area due to significant disruption. pic.twitter.com/SgeB1oQtop[2][3]

— Police Scotland (@PoliceScotland) October 7, 2023[4]

Roads and rail across Scotland were affected as extremely heavy rainfall hit the country, while the South of England basked in temperatures of up to 25°C.

The Met Office issued a “danger to life” amber weather warning for much of Scotland on Saturday and the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) put in place 48 flood warnings and 17 regional flood alerts.[5]

Met Office Chief Meteorologist Neil Armstrong warned prolonged, heavy rain was expected “to cause widespread disruption for much of Scotland”, with up to 18cms of rain in some places.

Rail services from England to Scotland were cancelled by Trans Pennines Express and ScotRail also cancelled trains.

Network Rail Scotland shared a photo of the Dalmuir Twin Tunnels in West Dunbartonshire, where the water level said to be the same height as a train window.

Posting on X (formerly Twitter), it wrote: “As you can see, the water level is massive – it’s up to around the window level on a train.

“The fixed pumps here have been completely overwhelmed by the extreme rainfall. It’ll take time for this to clear once the rain stops.”

Here’s the state of play at Dalmuir Twin Tunnels. As you can see, the water level is massive – it’s up to around the window level on a train. The fixed pumps here have been completely overwhelmed by the extreme rainfall. It'll take time for this to clear once the rain stops. https://t.co/XeKiuenQfO pic.twitter.com/trLWhJeOEO[6][7]

— Network Rail Scotland (@NetworkRailSCOT) October 7, 2023[8]

The M9 motorway near Stirling was “barely passable”, with lanes closed due to flooding and the A83 at Butterbridge, Argyll and Bute was also badly affected, along with Cairndow A83/A815 Dunoon junction.

An inspection was planned for Sunday once bad weather passed and debris was swept into the road at A86 Roybridge, in the Highlands, east of Spean Bridge.

Sporting events across Scotland were also affected with the third round of the Alfred Dunhill Links golf championship at St Andrews being postponed until Sunday and Dundee’s Scottish Premiership game with Ross County called off due to a waterlogged pitch.

Vincent Fitzsimmons, Sepa’s flood duty manager, warned “this is not a normal autumn day for Scotland”.

He said: “We’re expecting extensive river and surface water flooding in affected areas.

“There is a danger to life.”

He added that there would be “widespread impacts to road and rail” and “risk of more significant community scale property flooding”.

“Many areas will see heavy rain for well over 24 hours before it clears on Sunday”, he said.

Communities in the amber area, extends from west central Scotland northwards including Aviemore, the Spey Valley, Milngavie, Aberfoyle, Callander and Bridge Of Allan, were expected to be among the worst affected.

References

  1. ^ Scotland (inews.co.uk)
  2. ^ @HMCoastguard (twitter.com)
  3. ^ pic.twitter.com/SgeB1oQtop (t.co)
  4. ^ October 7, 2023 (twitter.com)
  5. ^ flood alerts. (inews.co.uk)
  6. ^ https://t.co/XeKiuenQfO (t.co)
  7. ^ pic.twitter.com/trLWhJeOEO (t.co)
  8. ^ October 7, 2023 (twitter.com)

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