DEVASTATED homeowners attempted to start rebuilding their lives after the Storm Babet floods as one victim admitted: “I’ve lost everything”.
Residents in the worst-hit areas were warned they may never be able to return to their homes after extreme deluges left villages and towns underwater.
Shattered Ewan Clark sat in wellies alongside ruined ornaments and keepsakes[/caption]
Locals cleared a thick layer of mud covering the roads and pavements[/caption]
Residents returned to their Brechin homes to assess the damage[/caption]
Hundreds fled around River Street after the River South Esk burst its banks[/caption]
One of two Scots to die in the brutal weather was named as gran Wendy Taylor, 57, director of Perthshire-based Taylors Snacks.
She was swept into a river in Glen Esk, Angus, on Thursday.
Painter John Gillan, 56, was killed when a tree crashed on to his van in up to 70mph winds near Forfar, on the same day.
And the search continued for a missing man thought trapped in his motor in Marykirk, Aberdeenshire.
In flood-ravaged Brechin, heartbroken residents were braced for the prospect that some homes may face demolition.
Hundreds fled around River Street after the River South Esk burst its banks and breached flood defences, sending water pouring into properties.
After sheltering in rescue centres residents returned to homes to assess the damage.
Shattered Ewan Clark, 37, sat in wellies alongside ruined ornaments and keepsakes. And wall marks behind him scarily showed how floods hit 4ft above sofa height.
Around him the floor was covered in mud, silt and scattered belongings.
Ewan said: “I lost everything. I managed to save a couple of things but everything else is gone.
“I don’t think we will get back in until next year. Everything will have to be stripped back.”
The part-time carer and decorator added: “There’s a massive crack in the ceiling. It’s just a wreck. It’s a shambles.
“Brechin is a forgotten town. If we didn’t have people helping us out, we’d be lost.
“A lot of people don’t want back thinking it’s going to happen again. People will be scarred.”
David Stewart, 68, tried to salvage items from his flat nearby.
He said: “The devastation looks even worse than I thought.”
Meanwhile Brian Petrie, 66, returned to find the lower floor of his house covered in silt and mud, with the carpet squelching as he walked and the fridge upended.
He told how he’d been sheltering upstairs with his mum of 92 when the floods hit before she was helped to safety by mercy crews.
Brian said: “Coastguards and paramedics got her down the stairs in a stretcher and took her in a dinghy up to the ambulance.”
Angus Council chiefs said temporary digs had been found for all locals forced to find shelter. But environmental officer Jacqui Semple warned: “There remains concern that parts of River Street could completely give way and it is unlikely that some residents will be able to return to their homes.”
Humza Yousaf will travel to Brechin tomorrow to meet residents and thank rescuers.
The First Minister said: “My thoughts are with the families of those who lost their lives to the extreme conditions.
“The local community in Brechin has come together to offer support to all those affected. The process of assessing the full amount of damage is now under way.”
The Met Office issued an ice warning across most of Scotland, lasting until 9am tomorrow.
We told how Storm Babet could prove the costliest weather event in Scotland’s history, with insurers feared to be facing a repair bill of more than £300million.
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