An Aberdeenshire mother-of-three had to make a dramatic escape from her home as it was swamped with waist-high water in a matter of minutes.
Ashley Wilson had no time to gather belongings from her house in Port Elphinstone’s Riverside Park as she rushed her schoolboy sons into the street before battling to open the door of their Range Rover as it also flooded.
Ms Wilson left to make the terrifying journey to her mother’s house in Aberdeen around 10.30pm on Thursday with her three boys – Ben, 11, Bradley, 13 and 16-year-old Lewis – and has criticised council chiefs for not evacuating the street.
Assessing the damage to her home yesterday, she said: “I’m devastated. It was like a scene from a horror film.
“There was no help from the council whatsoever. I’ve paid my rates all my life and I think it’s disgusting how they offered no help.”
Lewis said: “As soon as we stepped out it was up to our waists. It was really scary.”
Further up the street 70-year-old Derek McKay was picking up the pieces after 4ft of water poured into his living room in just 10 minutes.
He said: “The inside is a total mess. I’ve never seen it rain for six days in a row in my life.”
The rivers Ury and Don started flooding the town late on Thursday night and many residents could not be rescued from their homes for hours.
In Port Elphinstone the fire brigade reported rescuing 50 people.
Cristina Ricci, who works for a helicopter firm based in Aberdeen, was evacuated from her home in the town during the early hours of Friday morning.
She said: “I am feeling quite shaky at the moment. We were rescued by the coastguard at 3.30am.
“We stayed in Inverurie Academy last night but they are now asking us if we have any friends or family that we can stay with as they have more people waiting.
“I have never experienced anything like this before. You always see it on the TV and think it will never happen to you.”
Inverurie councillor Martin Kitts-Hayes said storms on the scale seen in the north-east were “impossible to predict”.
He said: “I think we have to really praise our council staff and emergency services for the excellent job they have done.”