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The sorry tale of Stonehaven residents flooded out of their homes has been made all the worse by Aberdeenshire Council's incompetence in dealing with the crisis. Area Manager Willie Munro defended the Council's actions at an emergency meeting held by the Stonehaven Business Association (SBA) tonight, and said the emergency plan worked as expected. But a number of questions remained unanswered.
Why did the council take back the sandbags they had issued to homes near the river Carron only the previous week. Why were people turned away from the Spurryhillock depot on Sunday night when they were looking for sandbags? Is it correct that neither the emergency services nor the Council knew of the existence of a storm drain in the old town, but that when it was pointed out to the fire brigade and opened it significantly reduced the water level in the High Street?
The Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) will have to answer for their refusal to dredge the lower reaches of the Carron. Angry locals said the river used to be cleared of silt and rubbish every year to help stop flooding, but the suggestion was that recent environmental legislation meant that could no longer be done.
Mike Rumbles MSP was amongst those demanding to know why Council phone lines went unanswered. Again Willie Munro ducked responsibility saying calls were diverted. It was for the police non-emergency service to deal with out of hours calls, and the police call centre failed to cope. Confusion also surrounds the use of the Town Hall - in the middle of the affected area. It was pressed into use as an evacuation centre when Mackie Academy was the designated place - apparently because the school was locked up and no key-holder could be found.
Meanwhile insurance companies are picking up the costs and local businesses and residents are picking up the pieces. But a spirit of the blitz saw things quickly improving with the churches and the SBA to the fore. St Bridgets was serving soup. Feteresso's minister was forcing the Council to meet to discuss the situation. Newspapers described the SBA's response as putting the council to shame. And the Rotary, Round Table and Lions were pulling together to collect and distribute furniture and clothing etc., as well as to set up a flood fund. Donations can be made at the Royal Bank of Scotland in Stonehaven, and at the other local banks.
The headling link is to the Mearns Leader's coverage.
