Communities across Scotland count the cost of devastating flood damage

Aberdeenshire and Perthshire were among the areas worst affected as the incessant heavy rain led to rivers bursting their banks, flooding many homes and work premises.

One of the businesses affected in Perth since the start of the new year is the start-up company Glaze & Save.

Owner Tanya Ewing said the magnetic secondary glazing firm has not been able to trade properly since the water came into its Shore Road base.

She said: “We’re a very young, small start-up company so we can’t afford to be not working at all.

“We just moved into a unit in September and we knew it was on the water area, but Perth does have the flood defences. Unfortunately we’ve been flooded because it’s coming up through the drains.”

Dr Ewing said they have had sandbags in place over the last four weeks, but the current situation is the worst they have experienced.

“It’s come up to our door on a number of occasions over the last few weeks and it’s meant that we can’t take the vans in and out and we haven’t been able to take stock in and out,” she explained.

“But the last four days, the water’s come right over the sandbags and actually come into our premises. It has meant we just can’t use our premises at all, we just can’t get access to it.

“We haven’t been able to trade properly and we haven’t been able to have anyone to come to the showroom. People come to pick up stock, to pay for things, and they haven’t been able to do any of that.”

The businesswoman said they have still been able to visit customers because they have stock in the van, but she and her employees do not expect to get back into the unit before the weekend.

Dr Ewing believes the business is losing around 20 to 30 days of manpower due to the current flooding situation.

“We’re a very small business and money is so tight with us, really tight, so it will have an impact,” she said.

“It might mean that I can’t now pay myself again for another two months until we get ourselves on our feet again.”

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While she praised the flood defences for working well in Perth, and welcomed the water-pumping efforts of the local authority at the unit, she believes the impact on the city from the water is far greater than has so far been documented.

Elsewhere in Perth, one garage boss told how the flooding has seen him lose business.

Mark Young, director of Harbour Garage on Friarton Road, said: “We’ve not actually had any flooding as such. The flood defences have worked in the sense of keeping the water out, but we’ve lost a bit of business in the last couple of days just with the gates being closed.

“The flood gates are right over our entrance to our workshop door so there’s no available entry or exit from the building for cars.”

While Mr Young said he is happy the flood defences are in place, the business has lost dozens of hours of labour.

And he added: “The lack of warning is the issue that we have. Sometimes customers may leave a car overnight in the car park and the council come and shut the gates without any warning and we’ve no way of getting that customer’s car out or notifying the customer the gates are closed.”

In Ballater, one of the worst- affected Aberdeenshire towns, locals have praised the emergency services’ response to the flooding and the way community members rallied round to help each other.

Alistair Cassie, whose hardware shop in Bridge Street just escaped the flood waters, said: “I think the last big flood was in 1937 but I don’t think it was the magnitude of this one.

“I think the emergency services did a good job and everybody pulled together. Even your worst enemy would have helped you out. The spirit has been amazing really, it’s been remarkable. It brings the best out in people.”

On the impact on the local community, he added: “It’s devastating for the village. We need to get help from central government to try and get the village back on track.

“I think it will take possibly about a year to get back to normal.”

One Ballater local, who did not want to be named, said it looked “like the River Dee had moved” when the flooding was at its worst.

She said: “It’s shocking. Everyone’s devastated and there’s a lot of businesses that lost a lot of stock. It’s absolutely devastating, it really is.

“A week on, it’s still raining and people are still trying to get assessors out.

“The community themselves are bending over backwards to try and help everybody. It’s right up and down Deeside, not just Ballater – everybody is rallying around everybody.”