Torrential rain causes huge landslips in Scotland as drivers airlifted from cars

Amber and yellow weather alerts issued as Met Office warns of ‘danger to life’ floods

Some parts of Scotland saw a month’s rain in just 24 hours (Getty Images)

Ten people have been airlifted from their cars after torrential rain caused multiple landslides in Scotland on Saturday

Aerial images shared by police showed the A83 between Tarbet and Lochgilphead covered in mud as the coastguard carried out a search and rescue helicopter operation. No injuries were reported.

It comes as amber and yellow weather alerts for heavy downpours were put in place across large parts of Scotland until Sunday morning. Some parts of Scotland saw a month’s rain in just 24 hours, with “danger to life” warnings continuing over the weekend.

Photos have also shown high water levels at Dalmuir in West Dunbartonshire, which were said to be the same height as a train window.

A car left abandoned under a flooded railway bridge in Dumbarton, Scotland (PA)

The M9 motorway near Stirling was also described as “barely passable”, with lanes closed due to flooding.

Police Scotland Assistant Chief Constable Tim Mairs said: “Officers have been dealing with significant disruption on the roads caused by the heavy rainfall and we would expect this to continue into Sunday.

“Our advice is to plan ahead and consider if your journey is really necessary or if it can be delayed until conditions improve.”

In relation to the incident on the A83, Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We were called to reports of multiple landslides on the A83 and A815 on the morning of Saturday, 7 October, 2023. A number of vehicles were stuck between the landslides.

Flooded roads in Dumbarton on Saturday (Getty)

“Emergency services, including HM Coastguard, attended and 10 people were airlifted to safety. There were no reports of injuries. The roads remain closed and drivers are urged to avoid travel in the area.”

They added in a post on X that the A83 is closed between Tarbet and Lochgilphead due to multiple landslips and that drivers should “avoid travelling in the Argyll and Bute area due to significant disruption”.

The HM Coastguard search and rescue helicopter from Prestwick airlifted 10 people cut off by a landslide at the junction after the alarm was raised at about 9:15am. They added that people were flown “safe and well” to Inverary where they were met by the Inverary Coastguard Rescue Team and provided with shelter.

Landslides have been reported on the A83 following torrential rain (Police Scotland/HM Coastguard)

Vincent Fitzsimons, flood duty manager for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa), said that flood warnings had been issued across Scotland.

He said: “I want to be very clear that this is not a normal autumn day for Scotland.

“We’re expecting extensive river and surface water flooding in affected areas. There is a danger to life. There will be widespread impacts to road and rail. There is a risk of more significant community-scale property flooding.”

Amber and yellow weather alerts for heavy downpours are in place across large parts of Scotland until Sunday morning. (Met Office)

Railway passengers have also been heavily affected today following warnings to not travel into Scotland.

LNER cancelled all services north of Newcastle on Saturday, and advised passengers not to travel north of there.

Bowling railway station in Scotland was closed due to extreme flooding (Network Rail Scotland)

Network Rail Scotland posted on X: “A month’s worth of rain is expected today, likely leading to widespread flooding across Scotland.

“With this in mind, we’re limiting train speeds on almost all routes to protect passengers, staff and the railway. Check your journey before travelling.”

Avanti West Coast also advised customers between Scotland and Preston not to travel, and confirmed there would be no services running north of the latter.

Transpennine Express services between Manchester, Liverpool, Preston to Carlisle and Glasgow and Edinburgh are also affected.

Scotland’s extreme weather is in “huge contrast” to the high temperatures expected in England this weekend.

The Met Office say fine and dry weather will be seen in southern and central England and temperatures could rise as high as 25C by Sunday afternoon.

Brighton and many parts of southern England experienced unseasonably warm weather on Saturday (Getty)

Tom Morgan, a Met Office meteorologist, said: “There is a huge contrast in weather across the UK, it’s very wet across much of Scotland where we have several weather warnings in place including an amber warning.

“This could cause widespread disruption across the region such as flooded roads, the potential for landslides and issues with the trains as lines are being closed pre-emptively.

“There could be a month’s worth of rain falling while for many other parts of the UK, Northern Ireland and Wales it’s unseasonably warm with temperatures of up to 25C and a small chance of 25C tomorrow.”

He explained the contrasting weather was caused by warm weather travelling up from France meeting cold weather coming from the north with the temperature contrast leading to the heavy rain in Scotland.

The village of Drymen in Sterling on Saturday (Getty Images)

The warm weather in southern parts was expected to last until Tuesday with the worst of the rain expected by Sunday in Scotland.

Sepa has issued 49 flood warnings and 17 flood alerts as the torrential rain continues. Amber flood risks have been forecast for Saturday in Scotland, which warns of potential danger to life, “large scale evacuations” and “collapse of buildings”.

Meanwhile, the Met Office has issued five amber and yellow weather warnings for rain across Scotland, warning that some communities “may be cut off by flooded roads” and that there may be “danger to life from fast flowing or deep floodwater”.