Flooding Events 

This page discusses some of Scotland's recent notable flooding events, but is by no means a definitive list. While SEPA keeps track of all flooding events (SEPA, 2020), this data is not publicly available. Without an archive tracking all instances of flooding in Scotland, this page instead offers a few especially notable examples.

The Stonehaven Floods of  2012:
Notorious for its flood risk, Stonehaven most recently experienced major flooding in 2012. This event continued a long legacy of flooding in the area, with recent decades seeing floods in 1988, 1995, 2001, 2002, 2007 and 2009 (Aberdeenshire Council, 2023). The 2012 event involved the bursting of both the Carron and Burn of Glaslaw, compounded by surface water runoff from the Bervie Braes to the south of the town (McMillan, Pettit and Bassett, 2013). The flood resulted in the evacuation of 40 homes (BBC, 2012), with water flowing through the rivers at 24 m³ per second (Aberdeenshire Council, n.d.). The extent of flooding on High Street can be seen in figure 1. 
In response to the continued destruction and public distress, a large-scale flood defence project was undertaken in 2019 (BBC, 2023). The river levels that caused the 2012 floods are believed to occur once every 10 years (Aberdeenshire Council, n.d.). Now complete, it is hoped the new defences will protect residents from such events. The situation is so far so good, with the river rising to 1.4m in October 2023 and causing no damage to the town (BBC, 2023). 

Flash Flooding of August 2020:
Over the 11th and 12th of August 2020, a series of thunderstorm events swept through Scotland. Areas affected included Aberdeenshire, Falkirk, Fife, and Perth (Met Office, 2020). As shown in figure 2, areas of Aberdeenshire received 78mm of rainfall in just 24 hours. With such extreme conditions, flooding caused significant infrastructure damage and the loss of three lives when a train derailed near to Stonehaven. A hospital in Kirkaldy was disrupted, a gas pipe exposed in Clackmannanshire, and part of the A68 was badly damaged (SEPA, 2020). 

Storm Babet – October 2023:
Between the 18th and the 20th of October 2023, Storm Babet brought extreme rains and windspeeds to Scotland. With the ground already saturated after heavy rains on October 6th and 7th, the effects of storm Babet were intensified (Farm Advisory Service, 2023). An evacuation of 10,000 thousand people took place up and down the UK, but one of the worst affected areas was Brechin in Angus (HM Coastguard, 2024). When the River Esk burst its banks, the town became cut off by water filling major roads (HM Coastguard, 2024). With more than 4 feet of water having flooded some resident’s homes (Clark, 2024), a year later more than 50 buildings in Brechin remain empty (Gillies and Buckley, 2023). October 19th was the wettest on record for the county of Angus (Met Office, 2023) – figure 3 shows the consequences of such rainfall. 

To learn more about flooding in Scotland, please see our 'Flooding Trends' and 'Flood Mitigation Work' pages.