Storm Babet victims ‘are forgotten & abandoned’ three months on from devastating floods
SURVIVORS say it feels like Humza Yousaf has forgotten them three months on from the most expensive storm in the country’s history.
Families battling to rebuild following devastating Storm Babet have blasted the First Minister and his ministers for leaving them to pick up the pieces after chest-high water caused hundreds to flee their homes in Brechin.
At least 1,000 people were forced to leave when flood defences — with eight families still languishing in temporary accommodation.
Experts estimate the repair bill could top £500million.
Grant Hutchison, 49, of the Brechin Buccaneers cricket club, which has raised more than £150,000 for those in need, is helping spearhead aid efforts from the team’s base which has been transformed into a relief centre.
He told The Scottish Sun on Sunday: “Babet was the greatest disaster not of our making in living memory.
“At the start, everybody wants to stick together and there’s that Blitz spirit.
“But that starts to wane as reality sets in.
“The First Minister came up for a couple of days and promised to do everything in his power.
“That’s not the response we have seen.
“It seems like he doesn’t have any power or that he doesn’t care.”
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Brechin was besieged when £16m flood defences built just seven years ago were breached.
Around 335 homes were evacuated in Brechin alone when rare red ‘danger to life’ storm warnings were put in place before the river South Esk’s banks burst 13 weeks ago.
Some had to be freed by rescue crews as floodwaters surged to 5m deep and huddled in shelters opened in community centres.
Nearly 100 people needed to be rehoused, with council, housing association and private tenants and homeowners all affected.
Holyrood stumped up grants of just £1,500 for households and £3,000 for firms who suffered damages when the waters surged, while Angus Council was given an extra £100,000 to boost its homelessness relief fund.
But those impacted say the money is a drop in the ocean compared to the losses suffered.
Gran of five Barbara Lindsay, 57, has been sheltering at her daughter’s house with her and four children since she was rescued from her two-story semi-detached home of seven years by boat during the storm.
She said: “I speak to my landlord every week.
“She’s having problems with her loss adjuster so little is being done.
“I’ve only been back once since it happened, it was so totally overwhelming.
“I lost all my furniture, my birth certificate, my passport, everything.
“I’m homeless now — I never thought this was something that would happen to me.”
Angus Council has provided dehumidifiers to run in some gutted flats and £28 to help pay electric bills.
But ex-pub worker Barbara says some neighbours are turning them off because they can’t afford the £10-a-day running cost.
Others fear pollutants from the river and rising sewage could cause health problems and buildings will collapse due to water in beams and foundations.
Residents say they have been largely left to fend for themselves or rely on the efforts of local charities like the Buccaneers — who ploughed £10,000 of their own funds into the rescue pot.
Barbara said: “I’ve not seen anybody from the council or government.
“Local charities are stepping up to fill the void they’ve left.”
Families say the town has say they have been cut-off from the outside world after the storm left only one road in and out open.
Council chiefs say it will cost at least £4m to repair damaged carriageways with winter weather likely to exacerbate problems.
Flood-hit firms have criticised what they perceive as a lack of response from the Scottish Government.
Scott Murray’s family-owned Eastmill Holiday Park was devastated when almost-5ft waves crashed into his site and wrecked 27 caravans, 10 chalets and his cottage.
He said: “Humza Yousaf was up here promising to help but we have not seen it or him since.
“The only support we’ve received is a £3,000 grant and it feels like a slap in the face, it’s not enough to even rent a skip.
“We’ve been here 65 years and have brought a lot of money into this town but we’re getting nothing back.
“It was like a tsunami hit us — we’ve lost everything and can’t open.”
Scott, 57, is working long hours every day alone to strip back his damaged vans so they can be scrapped.
His 14 full-time residents have permanently left after their homes were destroyed and his daughter Shawny, 31, says their total losses will hit £1million.
She said: “I’m worried for dad.
“He’s not had any income at all since the storm.
“He lost his home and all his pictures and possessions.
“Dad’s been left to fend for himself and I’m worried he’s going to get ill from the stress of it all.
“Then what if it happens again?”
Longer-term impacts of the flooding are already beginning to be felt.
Matrix, a motor brakes factory which can trace its roots in the town back 85 years, this month confirmed it will stop manufacturing parts in the town due to uncertainty over flooding.
Mr Hutchison says some of those made homeless could be out for up to a year.
He added: “Insurance companies aren’t doing what they should be.
“People are being asked for receipts for everything.
“There’s older people who bought stuff in the 70s being chased for paperwork they don’t have or which was washed away.
“Payouts are taking too long and others are struggling to get anything at all.
“For many, it’s overwhelming — there’s shellshock, they have PTSD.”
Ministers have vowed to bolster flood defences at 42 key hotspots around the country protecting 11,000 homes, with five under construction.
Work has yet to begin on 18 others, despite a 2021 deadline for completion, with costs spiralling from £300m to nearly £1bn.
The Brechin scheme was one of the biggest civil engineering projects ever undertaken in Angus and was designed to cope with 3.8-metre high waters.
Angus Council says it is working with partners to provide support.
A spokesman said: “So far we have facilitated 195 successfully funded applications to support flooded households in purchasing new goods, recovering costs, or for future flood defence systems.
“We have also supported 33 effected businesses with grants of £3,000 each.”
The Scottish Government has encouraged those impacted to access homeless and welfare funds and has committed £1.8m to support farmers affected by floods.
Net Zero Cabinet Secretary Mairi McAllan said: “I reiterate that we stand by affected communities now and in the future.
“We understand the concerns that people whose homes were flooded have about the future.
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“At this week’s taskforce meeting we heard from experts that the flood defences in Brechin are providing protection, with work to prepare a damaged section of wall adjacent to Brechin Bridge being taken forward.
“However, there are still decisions to be made about longer-term protection and we are working closely with Angus Council to determine what the best options are.”
