Bridge inspections after north east flooding
Bridges are being safety-checked across Aberdeenshire after a day of heavy rain led to widespread flooding across the north east.
Images on social media on Saturday showed flooded roads and water surging through the coastal village of Crovie. A bridge collapsed on an unclassified road between King Edward and Balchers. Aberdeenshire Council urged drivers to obey "road closed" signs while engineers checked that routes were safe. The authority said it had blocked off some roads with concrete blocks and boulders while the inspections took place. Samantha Rogers was on holiday with her husband in Crovie when a torrent of water surged through the village. She said: "It was really wild sea weather. About a hundred yards down the path a river comes in and it had burst its banks. "A car had been shifted halfway down the bank and got stuck. There's a little walkway you walk down to the car park but you couldn't get anywhere near it. "There were trees, bushes, boats - a boat had been washed down. It was just mad." BBC Scotland Out of Doors reporter Euan McIlwraith posted dramatic video footage of a flooded road near King Edward as the water lifted "big 20ft chunks" of road surface from the highway. He returned to the scene on Sunday to discover six bridges destroyed and large sections of the road surface lying in a field downstream. Aberdeenshire Council's head of roads Philip McKay said: "Weather conditions were atrocious yesterday, leading to very difficult conditions for anyone travelling. "Teams were out working in these difficult conditions, across Banff and Buchan and the wider area yesterday, and along with our partners had to close a number of roads to keep everyone safe. "As well as dealing with surface water on roads, a number of locations were also affected by flood water from streams and burns that burst their banks. "Many bridges in the area have been badly damaged and a number of smaller bridges on unclassified roads have been swept away entirely. It is vitally important that Roads Closed signs are respected as although flood water levels may have fallen, the road may still be unsafe to pass."