Storm Babet: Woman swept to her death in river as town evacuated and thousands left without power

A 57-year-old woman has died after being swept away in a river as a fierce storm batters parts of Scotland, bringing “unprecedented” downpours and forcing a whole town to evacuate during a rare red weather alert.

Thousands of homes were left without power or facing their properties being flooded during Storm Babet as the Scottish government warned residents in affected areas that the worst was yet to come.

The storm, the second named one of the season, prompted a rare Met Office red “danger to life” warning, which took effect at 6pm on Thursday. It was feared that the storm would cause near-record rainfall before spreading into northern and eastern England.

Forecasters warned some communities could be cut off for several days by severe flooding, while the British Geological Survey warned the storm could also cause landslides.

Some of those worst affected were residents of Angus, north of Dundee. The council said the residents of 335 homes in Brechin and 87 homes in Tannadice and Finavon were asked to leave because of the risk of severe flooding and schools were forced to close.

People were urged to take their own sleeping bags, pillows and blankets to the three rest centres set up in the area.

But one resident said he would stay put, while others were pictured building their own flood defences with sandbags. John Stewart, 82, of Brechin, said he would not leave his home should authorities try to get him to go.

Meanwhile, police in Angus said a 57-year-old woman’s body was recovered on Thursday afternoon at Water of Lee, Glen Esk, two hours after officers received a report of a person having been swept into the water.

Douglas Ross, MP for Moray and MSP for the Highlands and Islands, said his “thoughts and deepest sympathies” went out to the “family and friends of the lady who has sadly lost her life”.

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Flood barriers have been put in place in towns in the east of Scotland while around 20,000 homes lost power. Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks said it restored services to 14,000 homes, while engineers were working to reconnect the rest.

ScotRail imposed mass train cancellations, expected to last from Thursday until Saturday. Services on both the East Coast and West Coast main rail lines were in disarray because of blockages on the lines.

In Aberdeenshire, the council warned residents to be ready to leave imminently and more than doubled the number of rest centres to five, from two earlier in the day.

Council officials also postponed funerals until next week, while leisure centres, recycling centres, and vaccination centres all closed early because of the red weather warning, and will be shut on Friday.

Massive waves were pictured crashing over a sea wall at Stonehaven Harbour in Aberdeenshire, with David Jacobs, 56, saying he saw waves around 20ft high on the coast off the town.

He said “The wind is swinging east tomorrow so it will be coming directly into the harbour. The last time I have seen weather like this was 2014. It is quite spectacular to watch but bits of trees and rocks land onto the road.”

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) had warned of “unprecedented” rainfall, with flooding that would cause “significant disruption”.

Yellow severe weather warnings – the second most serious, indicating strong winds and potential flooding – are in effect until Saturday for a swathe of the UK, covering already-saturated parts of Scotland and northern and eastern England, even as far south as Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

Scotland’s deputy first minister Shona Robison said on Thursday evening that the worst effects of the storm were yet to come.

“We are only at the start of this weather event – that’s really important for people to appreciate,” she said.

“The red warning has been expanded to cover further parts of Scotland and we expect weather conditions to deteriorate seriously overnight. If you live in the areas covered by the red warning, please stay at home and do not travel, unless advised to relocate to a rest centre.

“We expect to launch a major clean-up operation as we move into the weekend.”

Sepa issued 18 additional flood warnings as well as a severe warning for Angus.

Aberdeenshire Council issued instructions to residents who may have to evacuate. It said: “If the police, council or other emergency services ask you to leave your home for your own safety and that of others, turn off the electricity and water supply at the main switch (be sure you know where these are located) and take your grab bag with you.

“If you have to evacuate your home, it will make things a lot easier if you have prepared a ‘grab bag’ in advance containing a packing list to follow should you need to use it.”