A Brechin mum whose children had to be carried to safety during Storm Babet says they will not be home for Christmas – but are treating it “like a holiday”.
Laura Demontis and her two sons, aged seven and eight, were rescued the morning after the River South Esk burst its banks in October.
Pictures of the family peering from their window as the water rose, and then being carried to safety by emergency crews, made national news.
Now, speaking to The Courier, Laura has told of the impact the flooding has had on her young family – as they face being in temporary accommodation in Montrose until February at the earliest.
The 44-year-old, a financial assistant at Dundee University, said: “Christmas isn’t my priority just now – you can make it wherever you want it to be.
“As long as your family are with you and you’ve got a roof over your head it will be good.
“Having to leave your home is the worst feeling but it could be worse.
“My boys are doing fine – I’m not letting them understand the whole situation.
“We make it into a little bit of a game and they’ve been excited as it’s something new.
“They are still little, and they were worried during the flooding as it wasn’t a nice view from the window.
“But I tried not to panic and I made everything like a joke for them – I tell them they’re on holiday.
“They have been so brave.”
Brechin mum ‘didn’t think family home would flood’ during Storm Babet
Laura says she woke up early in the morning to find her house had been flooded – with the water up to waist height.
Despite warnings to evacuate, she did not think the flood water would reach her house on Nursery Park and decided to stay put.
Laura, originally from Italy, said: “We acted as we had in the past, as we had never flooded here before.
“I decided to stay, but when I woke up at 4.30am the water was on the ground floor.
“My main concern was electricity and I was scared about going into the water because of that.
“I woke up again at 7.30am and I was crying because I just didn’t know what to do, and people were shouting outside telling people to get out.
“But I saw there were rescue people and that was fine.
“I just wanted to get out and reach a warm place to be safe with my kids and my dog.
“Fortunately, I took most of our personal belongings and clothes upstairs before the flood.
“I lost some drawings and paintings that I made, which is a pity, but nothing extremely valuable.
“Things can be replaced, material is just material – the most important thing is that me, my kids and my dog are all fine.”
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