Storm Babet: Moment journalist is knocked off her feet by 'foam tsunami'

A journalist has shared the moment she was knocked over by a "blizzard" of foam coming off the sea during Storm Babet.

Lindsay Bruce captured a video of a "foam tsunami" on the sea front in Aberdeen as Scotland was bombarded by heavy rain and high winds.

Thousands of homes were hit by power cuts while hundreds were evacuated as the Met Office issued red warnings for rain in parts of Scotland, meaning there is a danger to life.

Two people have died so far as a result of the storm.

On Friday, police said a 56-year-old man died after a falling tree hit a van near Forfar in Angus on Thursday evening.

On Thursday afternoon, a 57-year-old woman died after being swept into a river in Angus. Her body was recovered from the Water of Lee at Glen Esk.

Flood defences in the town of Brechin near the eastern Scottish coast were breached on Friday morning, with parts only accessible by boat.

Bruce posted her video on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Thursday afternoon.

In the clip, she pans the camera around the sea as the storm whips up large chunks of foam.

At one point, the camera goes sideways and she lets out a yell as she falls over.

She wrote: "Just been out doing my intrepid reporter thing for Storm Babet in Aberdeen.

"This is the esplanade now. The scream is the foam tsunami knocking me off my feet!"

When questioned on X about the potential dangers of her filming the storm, Bruce replied: "It was early in the day and I was much higher up than it looks.

Recommended reading

• Storm Babet: Maps show weather warnings in place across UK (Yahoo News UK)

• Storm Babet has already caused changes to coastline, experts say (PA Media)

• Woman's body found as Scotland battles Storm Babet (Herald Scotland)

"I was safer than this looks. I wasn’t in any danger. Was behind a railing. I literally just got wet!"

When asked about the "blizzard" of foam coming off the sea, she said: "Honestly, mounds of sand have come out of my clothes and hair - it's a salty, sandy, sea concoction."

Bruce is the obituary writer for the Press & Journal, Scotland's oldest daily newspaper. Earlier this year, she wrote a series of articles about 16 people whose names were on plaques on a single memorial bench in Torry, Aberdeen. The project featured the life stories of each person commemorated on the bench and led Bruce to trace 13 different families.

'Serious emergency'

Storm Babet has brought heavy rain to England, Wales and Northern Ireland, but Scotland has borne the brunt of its impact.

Angus Council said parts of Brechin are only accessible by boat and added: “Angus is in the middle of a very serious emergency. Flooding is unprecedented. Levels are over half a metre over the last highest ever.”

Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf said: “I cannot stress how dangerous conditions are in Brechin in particular.”

And Brechin councillor Jill Scott said: “It’s horrific. It’s just absolutely horrendous. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

She said people had been trapped for hours, warning: “There will be hundreds of houses flooded.”

Fire crews and the Coastguard began evacuating residents on Thursday night – knocking on residents’ doors advising them to leave.

About 400 homes in the region were evacuated and 20,000 properties were hit by power cuts, although Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) said electricity had been restored to almost 18,500 homes.

What is sea foam?

Sea form is formed when the sea is disrupted by wind and waves.

It involves tiny particles of fats, fish scales, algae and coral suspended in the water being churned up to create a thick foam.

According to the National Ocean Service in the US, algal blooms are a common source of thick sea foams and can often wash ashore.

It said most sea foam is not harmful to humans but that there can be impacts to human health and the environment when large harmful algal blooms decay near the shore.

Watch: Woman dies after being swept into river during Storm Babet