Firefighters say they have been “out in force” to tackle some of the worst flooding to hit Perthshire in years.
The Met Office issued a red alert for the region and it proved prudent as torrential rain caused major problems for communities across the area.
Around 90 properties had to be evacuated in total throughout the morning.
Alyth was one of the worst hit as the Alyth Burn burst its banks, with reports of homes being flooded and parked cars being lifted up by the flood water.
@BBCScotlandNews Alyth is under water this morning #Alyth #Flood #gladILiveInAFlat pic.twitter.com/vfLzfuObjb
— Jo Worrall (@teamworrall) July 17, 2015
The first of a number of flooding calls was received by the fire service’s control centre in Dundee at 7.23am and sparked a morning of misery for residents.
Flooding is affecting properties in Springbank Road, Bridge Street and Market Square, while some members of the public became stranded in their vehicles due to flood water.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has also been involved in evacuating flooded homes and businesses in Springbank Road, with 70 properties affected in Alyth alone.
Two appliances from Blairgowrie, one from Alyth, one from Kirriemuir, one from MacAlpine Road in Dundee and two of the Kingsway East’s water rescue units from Dundee were on the scene at the height of the problems.Colin Grieve, local senior officer for Perth and Kinross, Dundee and Angus, said: “Our crews are doing some excellent work and have had an extremely busy morning due to the high number of flooding incidents we have attended.
“I would also like to pay tribute to our control staff who have done an fantastic job during what has been an incredibly busy day so far.
“Everyone is working together to assist members of the public and the service is liaising closely with its emergency services partners to ensure people’s safety and wellbeing.”
Severe flooding in Alyth. Pic courtesy Michelle MacLeod pic.twitter.com/fTbHKnFjUx
— Tormod MacLeod (@scalpach) July 17, 2015
Perth itself was hit badly, with flooding on the Inch and a serious accident taking place near junction 10 on the M90 south of the Fair City although the driver suffered only minor injuries.
Fire crews in Perth also assisted members of the public after flooding was reported in High Street, where the basement of the Trespass shop was under water, and South Street, where water got into the cellar of a property.
Feus Road was closed for a time, while Croft Park, New Row and Barossa Street were also affected.
Perthshire in red on flood alert map from @ScottishEPA. pic.twitter.com/cflLQjpKSm
— Richard Rooney (@C_RRooney) July 17, 2015
Elsewhere, five homes had to be evacuated in Bankfoot at around 7.30am as the Garry Burn burst its banks – affecting 20 properties in total.
Residents took refuge with neighbours while crews assisted with sandbagging operations and diverted flood water away from houses.
Kevin McConnachie narrowly escaped having his Bankfoot home flooded.
He said: “Our garden is under three feet of water the fire brigade is here pumping it out.
“It was about one inch from flooding the house but the garage is ruined everything will have to be thrown out.
“I had a look out the window at 6am and the burn was a raging torrent. By 7am the water was pouring down in 15 minutes we had three foot of water in our garden.
“We had to move our cars out of the drive or they would have been floating down the road.”
The B827 Langside that runs from A822 just north of Braco over to Comrie was also closed following a serious washout South of Glenlichorn to Beannie.
After a third of the road was washed away, Andrew Scott, owner of Auchingarrich Wildlife Park which is just off the route, said they remained open but were only accessible from the Comrie side.
He said: “The road is closed about a mile from the Braco end.
“We are having signs made to say we are still open but people can only come from the Comrie side.”
Incidents were also reported in Glen Isla, Blairgowrie and Spittalfield throughout the morning, dealt with by crews from Pitlochry, Glenshee and Coupar Angus respectively.
Main photo by Angus Forbes Photography