Storm Babet: second person killed as Storm Babet batters Scotland

A resident walks through a flooded street in Brechin, northeast Scotland, on October 20, 2023 as Storm Babet batters the country. (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN / AFP) (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Police Scotland said a falling tree hit a van near Forfar in Angus on Thursday evening, killing the 56-year-old driver.

A 57-year-old woman also died on Thursday after being swept into a river in the county.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "(At) around 5.05pm on Thursday October 19 2023, police received a report of a one-vehicle crash in which a tree struck a van on the B9127 at Whigstreet near Forfar.

BRECHIN,SCOTLAND - OCTOBER 20: Members of the coastguard rescue a family from flood waters surrounding the houses on October 20, 2023 in Brechin Scotland. Areas close to the river have been overwhelmed by water which breached the flood defences in the early hours of this morning. Rare Red weather warnings are in place in Scotland and amber warnings in the north of England until Saturday as Storm Babet sweeps the country. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

"Emergency services attended, however, the 56-year-old driver was pronounced dead at the scene.

"Next of kin have been informed and a report will be sent to the Procurator Fiscal."

The Met Office has issued a new red warning for rain, meaning there is a risk to life, covering parts of eastern Scotland all day on Saturday.

Rescue operations are under way in the Scottish town of Brechin, Angus, after flood defences were breached in the early hours of Friday morning, leading to hundreds of homes being surrounded by water.

The local council has appealed for donations of warm clothes after 40 people turned up to rest centres while "soaked".

There is also an ongoing helicopter search in Aberdeenshire following a report of a man trapped in a vehicle in floodwater.

Scotland's First Minister Humza Yousaf warned that the further red warning issued by the Met Office would "intensify" the disruption caused by torrential rain from Storm Babet.

Mr Yousaf posted on X, formerly Twitter, regarding the "further red weather warning issued by @metoffice for Saturday".

He told people this would "intensify the disruption already being experienced".

Mr Yousaf said the Scottish Government would continue to liaise with local organisations and the emergency services.

"People's safety is our number one priority," he stressed.

Further south, the weather was starting to have an impact in the north-east of England.

A lighthouse at the mouth of the River Tyne had also been damaged in Storm Babet, port officials said.

With the ongoing dangerous sea conditions, it was not safe to assess the damage to the lighthouse at South Shields, the Port of Tyne authority said.

No traffic was going in and out of the river with six metres of sea swell, it said.

The public have been urged to keep away from the area, particularly the piers, by the port authority, due to the unsafe weather conditions.