Communities across Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire are rallying together to clear up the devastation left by the floods.
Three days of heavy rain, amber weather warnings and severe flood warnings have left their mark on the region.
Though the rain has mostly stopped, river levels remain high and it could take days for flooded areas to return to normal.
Surface water combined with a temperature drop overnight led the Met Office to issue a yellow warning for ice which remains in place until 9.30am.
Keep up to date with ongoing disruption and the clear-up effort near you here:
Record levels of water for Donside
Aberdeenshire Council has now moved into its recovery procedures to support communities impacted by flooding and restore any caused damage to infrastructure.
Aboyne recorded a month’s worth of rainfall within 48 hours last week, while wide swathes of low-lying land around Kintore remain submerged after the River Don burst its banks.
Speaking to BBC’s Good Morning Scotland, Aberdeenshire Council’s chief executive Jim Savage said the Donside area has experienced “record levels” of flooding.
“We had record levels of water in the Donside area, and really high in the Deeside area, due to extensive rain over a couple of days,” he said.
“The rivers were particularly high, and a lot of surface water coming off the fields and higher ground that caused some problems, primarily for our roads and landscape area.”
Water levels and flood warnings were likened to those of Storm Frank with devastated the region in the winter of 2015 and 2016.
Justice Secretary and lead minister for resilience Keith Brown said: “This was a serious flood event similar in magnitude to 2016’s Storm Frank, causing significant disruption in some parts of the country.
“As the clean-up gets under way, I want to thank local resilience partners and the emergency services for their ongoing work to ensure those communities most affected are kept safe, and urgently get the support they need.”
Flood alerts remain in place across Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire
Flood alerts remain in place for Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire this morning.
This is as a result of heavy rain over the weekend, not because any more is forecast.
Sepa advises: “A period of heavy rain from Saturday night and through Sunday afternoon could cause flooding impacts from surface water and rivers. Particularly at risk are urban areas and the transport network.
“Impacts may include flooding to low-lying land and roads, with difficult driving conditions. Isolated properties may also be at risk.”
Disruption continues across north and north-east
There are reports of large potholes on roads across the north-east as a result of flooding.
Drivers have reported potholes on West North Street and South Deeside Road, but drivers should be cautious using any roads that were flooded over the weekend.
Some communities were affected by power cuts over the weekend but there are no reported outages on Monday morning.
Stagecoach has said all services in and around Aberdeenshire will be facing delays of 15-25 minutes as drivers take extra care on icy roads.
West Highland Line and Western Isles ferries face delays and cancellations
Over in the west of the country, trains heading along the West Highland Line will be subject to delays as there is a speed restriction in place between Taynuilt and Falls Of Cruachan
This is expected to come to an end at 10am.
Ferries serving the Western Isles are subject to cancellation and delays today as bad weather threatens stormy seas.
⚠️YELLOW #Oban #Lochboisdale 21Nov Due to forecast adverse weather with strong winds, service is liable to disruption or cancellation at short notice.
— CalMac Service Info (@CalMac_Updates) November 21, 2022
Search for missing Monymusk woman continues
Searches for Monymusk woman Hazel Nairn, who was swept away by the River Don on Friday, have been continuing.
The 71-year-old has not yet been found, and a candlelight vigil was held at Monymusk Parish Church on Sunday evening to spread Hope for Hazel.
Mr Savage said: “We’re very sad to still have one from our community missing from the flood waters on Friday, and our thoughts are with the family and community.”
He added: “We don’t know much more at this stage.”
It is understood searches will continue on Monday, but police have warned the public to “stay away from flooded areas.”
Checking bridges key aspect of recovery phase
Council services are now focused on ensuring communities are reconnected and things can slowly start to return to normal.
Both Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeenshire Council are deploying additional resources to clear up and repair affected roads and footways.
An Aberdeenshire Council spokesman warned that while few flooded roads have reopened, many will remain closed until water levels drop and they can carry out the repairs.
Bridge of Feugh in Banchory remains closed as a precaution following an inspection on Monday.
Teams will be undertaking similar investigations at other locations to secure all bridges across the region.
Given the volume of water and debris, this is expected to take several weeks to complete.
Meanwhile, Aberdeen City Council co-leader Alex Nicoll said the local authority and partners took “necessary action” when a major incident was declared on Friday and that the clear-up efforts will continue.
“Various roads flooded and had to be closed, but fortunately we don’t appear to have anybody hurt as a result of this incident,” he told BBC’s Good Morning Scotland.
“There was some damage to property, mainly in the Garthdee, Inchgarth and Millside areas of the city, and it’s not really a case of the clean-up operation getting under way. We’ll finish the last of the bridge inspections later this morning.
“As a council we have to have these measures in place and we are seeing them having to be exercised more readily. We have major investments under way regarding flood defense and also for coastal erosion, because these are problems that are going to continue in the decades ahead.”
River Don flooding clean-up continues
Drone footage from Sunday showed the River Don was still spilling into fields in the Kintore area.
Mr Savage of Aberdeenshire Council said: “The waters in the rivers have been receding in the last couple of days. We still have some high water in the Kintore area, so we’re asking people to take care if they’re near to the water edge at this point in time.”
The residents of Kemnay were commended for their community efforts as they set up a rest centre and ensured sandbags were available to those who needed them.
Clean-up efforts will continue there today.
As flooding starts to move back from beaches and river banks, it is expected debris will be left in its place.
Community clean-ups across region
Mr Savage said “not too many properties” appear to have been affected by flooding – the fire service attended around 12 on Friday – but that help would be available to those who had been.
On Sunday, volunteers from Aberdeen Community Energy could be seen clearing Seaton Park of storm damage.
Some Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire businesses remain closed
A number of businesses will not open for business as usual on Monday as they try to rectify any flood damage.
David Lloyd Club on Garthdee Road will remain closed as equipment needs to be dried out and checked over before it welcomes members back.
A post on its Facebook page said: “Due to the extreme weather on Friday night our car park was badly flooded. The main power supply, our pool plant equipment and the chillers are all located in this area.
“The water is being taken away and once complete we will begin the process of drying it out and having it assessed and signed off for use.”
Hidden Scotland Shop at Milton of Crathes was flooded by the River Dee on Friday and will remain closed “until further notice”.
Eryn Inglis, who was working at the shop when water levels in the area began to rise, said: “We were pretty much fully under. I think the tide mark is probably about three feet in the shop and then two feet in the studio; a total wash out I would say.”
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