Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

North-east businesses urged to prepare for flooding

Ballater after Storm Frank hit
Ballater after Storm Frank hit

Businesses in the north-east have been urged to prepare themselves to cope with flooding after a national study found that 5,600 business in the region are at risk.

According to the recent Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) National Flood Risk Assessment, an estimated 29,300 properties in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire are at risk of flooding, whether through surface water, swollen rivers or coastal flooding.

Around 5,600 of those are businesses.

Reports suggest the average cost of flooding to a business is £82,000.

In response, Business in the Community (BITC) is urging businesses across the north-east to assess how prepared they are for the impact of flooding to avoid thousands of pounds of damage and distress.

When Storm Frank hit Scotland around Hogmanay in December 2015, it caused widespread flooding throughout the region.

In Ballater, more than 300 properties were affected when the River Dee burst its banks.

BITC chief executive Amanda Mackenzie said: “Severe weather can have a devastating impact and overwhelming financial costs for any business.

“Extreme weather might be unpredictable but your plan of action shouldn’t be.

“This week is an opportunity for businesses to assess their resilience, learn how to minimise the impact of flooding and protect that business you have spent years building up.”

For more information about how to protect your business from flooding, visit: www.bitc.org.uk/wouldyoubeready/extreme-weather