Residents in Alyth are holding their breath amid fears the town’s burn is about to burst its banks.
Sandbags have been deployed near Market Square and makeshift mud flood barriers erected along the route of the burn.
The B954 between Alyth and Meigle is closed due to flooding from the River Isla, with the C423 in Aberbothie also shut.
A combination of heavy rain from Storm Dennis and snow melt from the Perthshire hills has put the town at risk of a flood less than five years after it was struck by a “one-in-200 years” incident.
Video showing Alyth Burn on Saturday night is above this article
According to local reports, at around 5pm on Saturday water had spilt into Market Square and Springbank Road, with the Mart Street footbridge also impassable.
The burn has since shown signs of slowly receding, but with showers forecast for Sunday residents remain on alert.
A Perth and Kinross Council official was in Market Square on Saturday night and had installed sandbags to protect businesses and residents in the town centre.
Facebook page Alyth Community Flood Support Group, which was created after the 2015 event, has been keeping residents updated about developments.
Alistair Barron posted: “The burn at Springbank has broken the banks at the sewer pipe. The pipe, the concrete sides and the debris around it are causing a 600mm difference in level. The field along the track are under water.
“They have known about Ciara and Dennis for a week or more but made no effort to mitigate. A simple clear of tree debris from the Den through town would probably have been sensible.”
In July 2015 a massive surge of water flooded businesses and residents in the town and destroyed two footbridges.
In August last year there were calls for better flood measures as the town was just a few inches away from another major flood.
This evening’s heavy rain is a result of Storm Dennis, the second consecutive weekend of strong winds and heavy rain following Storm Ciara.
