A crunch meeting of Angus Council has been adjourned in the face of Storm Babet.
It was due to take place on Thursday afternoon.
The council had already taken the decision to hold proceedings remotely because of the severe weather.
But when the meeting started at 2pm, SNP group leader Beth Whiteside put forward a motion under council standing orders seeking an adjournment.
Angus remains under a red weather warning.
High winds and heavy rain have swept the area since early morning.
More than 300 homes in Brechin are on evacuation alert.
Council officials and Sepa are closely monitoring the state of the River South Esk amidst concerns it could overpower the town’s multi-million pound flood defences.
And the A92 North Water Bridge over the River North Esk has been closed due to Storm Babet.
You can keep up with Storm Babet developments in Angus here.
‘Duty of care’
Councillor Whiteside said: “We are clearly in an emergency situation.
“We owe our staff a duty of care.
“We really need to release them to deal with the most important thing today which is the situation unfolding around us.”
Montrose councillor Bill Duff, who second the move, said: “We need to ensure that the senior officers of the council can focus on the emergency and this meeting can be held early next week.”
Provost Brian Boyd said: “My thoughts go out to all Angus residents affected by the storm.
“I would thank all our staff working in these atrocious conditions keeping Angus residents as safe as humanly possible.”
Councillors unanimously agreed to the adjournment.
The special meeting was called to consider two key items.
Arbroath’s £14.6 million Place for Everyone active travel project is expected to get the go-ahead for construction to begin in early 2024.
And councillors were set to debate controversial changes to the area’s kerbside recycling scheme.
It will now take place on Tuesday.
