Residents in two neighbouring coastal communities were bracing themselves for the worst last night as rising waters submerged a golf course and streamed towards their homes.
The B9015 road between Garmouth and Kingston was closed after the River Spey burst it banks and flooded the link between the two villages.
Greens at the Garmouth and Kingston Golf Club were left beneath several feet of water as the conditions worsened throughout the day.
Locals more than familiar with the threat of flooding quickly set about protecting their properties by stacking sandbags against their doors.
Travelling salesman John Henderson had to dash home when was alerted that his Spey Street property was under threat.
The 49-year-old said he and his neighbours spent the day in a state of panic, unaware of whether weather events further south would have an impact on their homes overnight.
He added: “In my work I have to spend a lot of time on the road, but in the morning I was forced to return home to make sure the house stayed dry.
“The golf course is right beside my house, and it is completely flooded.
“There are about half a dozen of us here that have been getting the sandbags out and bracing ourselves.
“Whether we flood or not depends on what happens up the river, and there’s nothing we can do other than get our sandbags ready and wait.
“If the Spey continues draining throughout the day then we get it a few hours later, and the tide can also dictate what happens.”
Mr Henderson was brought up in Garmouth and returned to the village to live last year.
He said his property had not been flooded for 25 years, and remained optimistic it would escape unscathed.
The road linking Garmouth and Kingston was closed after water spilling from the west of the Spey swamped its lower reaches, beside the Garmouth and Kingston Village Hall.
A police spokesman confirmed that the B9015 was closed to traffic at 11am after Moray Council made contact with the emergency services to inform them it had flooded.
In December 2013 firefighters had to rescue a woman and child after they got trapped in their car in floodwater on the road.