Homes hit as torrential rain causes flooding
Homes have been evacuated in Aberdeenshire after Loch Soy burst its banks Flooding from torrential rain led to 40 elderly people being evacuated from their Aberdeenshire care home.
Temporary shelter had to be given to residents of Meadows Care Home in Huntly.
Businesses and homes were flooded in Portsoy, Banff, after Loch Soy burst its banks.
Other areas of the country have also been badly affected, including the north Ayrshire towns of Kilbirnie, Fairlie and Largs.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency currently has 15 flood watches in place.
The Met Office has also issued rain alerts for Aberdeen, northern Aberdeenshire, Moray, central Tayside and Fife, Lothian and Borders, Dumfries and Galloway and Strathclyde.
Businesses in Rothesay were affected by flooding during the night Grampian's Fire Service's flooding response unit were sent to Portsoy where crews had to help people from flooded properties.
The brigade said homes in Soy Avenue were among the worst hit. Schools in the area were also shut.
An Aberdeenshire Council spokeswoman said: "The majority of the flooding is confined to the north west of Aberdeenshire and we are continuing to monitor situations elsewhere."
Between 1745 BST and 2300 BST on Wednesday, Strathclyde Fire and Rescue said it received 117 calls about flooding from the public.
The rain affected properties and caused road closures in Kilbirnie, Glengarnock, Fairlie and Largs.
Fire crews were also called out to flooding in Rothesay and Helensburgh, in Argyll and Bute.
At its peak, 65 firefighters from Argyll and Bute, North Ayrshire, Glasgow, Renfrewshire and Inverclyde and North Lanarkshire community fire stations were called to deal with flash flooding.
'It's unbelievable'
Mark Asbury, who lives in a flat on Main Road in Glengarnock, said it was the worst case of flooding he had seen.
The area is susceptible to floods and in 2008 a major clean-up operation took place in Kilbirnie when the River Garnock burst its banks.
Mr Asbury said: "It is flooded to the front of my house - it is unbelievable. I've never seen anything like it."
This shop in Largs was among the properties flooded Nigel Sutherland from Rothesay said his local area was also badly hit.
He told the BBC: "Three town centre pubs flooded, and closed last night. Carpets were ripped up and chucked out on the street.
"The drains couldn't cope with the deluge. Personally, I've never seen such heavy rain in all my life, and I'm 57 and have also seen monsoons in the Far East."
During the evening flood waters caused a wall to collapse onto the Glasgow to Largs main railway line near Pencil View, Largs.
The line was immediately closed by Network Rail.
Parts of the M9 spur road near the Forth Road Bridge were also affected by flooding.
In addition, sections of the A96 between Inverness and Aberdeen were flooded overnight.
In the north east, Grampian Police said surface water was making roads treacherous, in particular the A947 between Turriff and Fyvie where some vehicles had become trapped.
