Justice minister Michael Matheson visited Dundee to thank the emergency services for going “beyond the call of duty” during recent floods.
He praised the coordinated response by police, the fire service and partner agencies who helped evacuate residents from their homes, including a disabled couple who were rescued by a helicopter in Blairgowrie.
A Scottish Fire and Rescue station manager for Dundee East said this year’s floods were the worst he’s ever dealt with.
Craig Thomson said: “I attended a number of incidents, a lot of them involved flood water coming off the fields into people’s houses.
“We were doing a lot of visits to people’s homes to check they were safe and if they weren’t, we were assisting them to leave.
“My colleague was at the helicopter rescue. I had spoken to the couple the day before, when the house was submerged by water.
“Unfortunately the water rose even more and they had to be rescued.
“Other incidents included flooding of a car salesroom in Forfar and a distillery in Brechin badly affected by running water.
“This year’s flooding was the worst I’ve seen. I was involved in the Perth flooding in 1993, but this year it was more prolonged, more widespread and there was more damage.
“I was also sent out to help in Aberdeen the first time I’ve been sent to another area.”
Alyth couple Charlie and Kate Walker were whisked to safety at the start of January after their home was cut off by rising river levels.
The pair, who are in their 60s, initially declined help until they woke to find their Boglea Farm property surrounded by water.
Police Scotland Superintendent Graeme Murdoch was in charge of coordinating the flood response in Tayside.
He said: “All the agencies involved worked really well together. We worked closely with the fire service and the local authority, it was a genuine effort.
“Our officers on the ground gave their maximum efforts.
“The severe weather and flooding took place on and off for 10 days. Roads in Blairgowrie and Coupar Angus were closed off by flooding.
“Until you are on the ground it’s difficult to appreciate how bad it is.”
Mr Matheson said the Tayside emergency response had been exceptional.
He added: “I was impressed at the way they handled the response, they went well beyond the call of duty.”