UK weather: police search for woman swept into river as torrential rain batters Scotland

Searches have resumed to find a woman who was swept into a river in Aberdeenshire as torrential rain battered parts of Scotland.

Officers from Police Scotland, alongside Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and the coastguard, are continuing efforts to locate the missing woman after being called to the River Don at Monymusk near Inverurie at around 3p on Friday afternoon (18 November). It is understood that the woman had been attempting to rescue a dog when she got into difficulty.

Police Scotland confirmed emergency services were on the scene after receiving a report of concern for a person in the water. Searches were later “stood down” on Friday evening but are now underway again.

Inspector Rory Campbell from Police Scotland said: “Officers, along with colleagues from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and the Coastguard, have resumed searches in the area where the woman was last seen.”

He added: “Conditions are tricky and dangerous and I am appealing to members of the public to stay away from flooded areas. Please be careful when you are out and about.”

The search comes after the east of Scotland was showered with heavy rain on Friday and several severe flood warnings were issued. The wet weather caused major disruption to travel, with roads and rail services affected, while some schools were forced to close on Friday due to flooding and centres were set up for those unable to stay in their homes.

Train services still disrupted

Train services are still being disrupted on Saturday after a day of heavy rain across parts of Scotland.

Operator ScotRail said the “extreme rainfall” means it was “unlikely” trains in the worst affected areas would restart before 12pm today (19 November).

After “yesterday’s extreme rainfall, services on the Fife Circle & between Aberdeen & Dundee are unlikely to start before noon today”, ScotRail tweeted, adding that staff from Network Rail need to assess conditions on the rails in daylight.

Power cuts also affected areas including Inverurie, Kintore, Stonehaven, Portlethen and Hatton of Fintray, as the Met Office said over a month’s rain had fallen in Charr in Aberdeenshire, with the total recorded as 140 millimetres.

There was localised flooding in some parts of Edinburgh, with pictures showing the Crewe Toll roundabout in the west of the city submerged.

On Friday evening, justice secretary and lead minister for resilience, Keith Brown, chaired a meeting of the Scottish Government’s resilience committee. He said: “The Scottish Government’s resilience arrangements have been activated to ensure preparations and appropriate measures are in place, and we will continue to monitor the situation over the course of the weekend.

“We are in close contact with resilience partners, local authorities and the emergency services to ensure people in the affected areas receive the latest information, advice and support where needed.”