Saturday, January 9, 2016

A Nightmare 24 hours...

Hi folks...I wasn't intending posting today but after lots of e-mails and PM's on Facebook...I just wanted to let you all know that Aberdeenshire in general and this creaky old crafter in particular have survived the worst 24 hour storm in living memory and come out the other side...albeit a bit battered and brushed. Torrential rain followed by heavy snow wreaked havoc across the region on Thursday...
Many communities have been devastated and hundreds if not thousands of residents evacuated to safety but us Scots are nothing if not resilient in the face of such adversity and the good news is the rain and snow has stopped. Radio and TV channels were very slow to react...in fact the unfolding disaster didn't even get a mention on the evening STV news but the wonderful guys at Fubar News rose to the challenge and posted up to the minute weather and road condition updates non-stop on Facebook...1908 updates in the space of 24 hours...allowing motorists to avoid danger areas and make it home safe and the situation would have been catastrophic without the emergency services who worked tirelessly in atrocious conditions to make sure everyone was safe but sadly there were far too many incidents like this one...using up time and valuable resources to rescue the "I am invincible" brigade...obviously not everyone has been blessed with common sense...
I take my hat off to the Police...Fire Service...Local Authority Personnel...Power Companies and all the folks who rallied round to help people in a time of great need including local hotels offering free accommodation and hot food to stranded motorists.  We're not out of the woods...many roads are still impassable and communities under water but what a difference a day makes...a "not seen for some time" bright yellow object has appeared in the sky...
it will take some time but hopefully the water levels will recede...the big mop up Aberdeenshire operation can begin and the lives of those affected get back to normal.
Stay safe if you're out and about and enjoy your weekend.
Hugs Kath xxx

18 comments:

  1. So glad you are safe Kath, what a disastrous time for you all

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  2. So glad to hear that you are safe and okay. It looks as though everyone rallied around to help those in need and that's a good thing! The weather has been very benign here in DE (mid-Atlantic area of USA)thus far this winter, but I'm being low key and keeping my fingers crossed just saying that! :)

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  3. I am so glad you are ok! It sounds like your weather has been so bad! We sometimes don't appreciate how lucky we are here in Bournemouth. Most of the time the weather is pretty tame! Take care! xxx

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  4. Hang in there my friend, - glad you are safe!! Edinburgh seems to have escaped the worst so far..... Happy weekend! xxx

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  5. More snow but also more sunshine with you that in Banchory! Glad you & Buddie are safe, make sure it stays that way....

    Sally

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  6. So glad you are safe and well.
    Lorraine x

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  7. Glad you and yours are safe Kath, some people really are very silly and don't heed the warnings, thus taking emergency services away from others who may not have been able to help their situation. On a positive side Kath, the snow looks lovely. take care and enjoy your week end and stay safe. Sue x

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  8. So glad to hear that you & the family are safe. The snow looks lovely but it must be very icy there after all the rain that preceded it.
    The BBC on-line weather have got it pretty wrong for this neck of the woods over the last few days. It has been very wet but we have been lucky and there haven't been any problems. The only thing that the weathermen seem to have forecast correctly is the drop in temps - things are much chillier.
    I hope you continue to stay safe.
    Love & (((hugs))) to you.
    Toni xx

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  9. Just happy to know you are safe and well. It does 'look' very pretty, as long as you don't have to go out in it! Keep safe and warm my friend. Hugs, Anne xxx

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  10. Kath, very sad that the new year began with natural catastrop, I wish You, your family, neighbors, country prosperity, God bless all!!!

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  11. Happy to hear you are safe. This storm didn't make the news on Dutch television, but the recent heavy rains of northern England did. And in the northern part of the Netherlands, where I grew up, the frost on the roads has been so bad at the beginning of this past week that schools have been closed for a couple of days and people went ice skating on the road. Over here in Crete, Greece, we've been experiencing a 'cold' and windy spell but when I walked the dog this morning, I could leave my coat at home, since it's warm and sunny...
    Have a wonderful weekend!

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  12. Glad your ok Kath, stay safe, take care..x

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  13. Jeepers - I hadn't seen any of this. Relieved to hear you are fine, and nice to see that the sun has turned up at least temporarily to help with the clearing up.
    Alison xx

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  14. Hi Kath,
    I'm glad you've weathered the storm okay. When I saw the coverage of the Don bursting its banks I thought of you even though you're not in the city. It was pretty bizarre watching the emergency services rescuing people from the flood waters while being covered in snow!
    How lovely your view is with a bit of sun...you can't beat a bright snow covered day and it doesn't look too deep as yet. I'm thinking that you would rather have snow than floods any day, even if it gets a bit on the deep side.
    Yesterday here in Truro it wasn't too bad, chilly but dry. Today it's back to normal with heavy rain and high winds. The council are due to come and replace the windows in the bungalow. They started just down the road from me the week before Christmas and one poor lady was sitting in her lounge room with no window or door, in the torrential rain. The front window is almost the entire length of the lounge room, apart from about 8 inches on one side and just over a foot the other side of the door. This has to be completely taken out and replaced as the door and window is one unit. They are hoping just to replace the glazing on most of the other windows, using the existing frame (something I didn't know they could do)so it should all be done and dusted in a day with minimal mess...I hope lol. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that by the time the make it up to the end of the road where I am, the weather will have improved. I don't mind being cold while they do the work, I just don't want my carpet soaked.
    Keep your still upper lip firmly in place, Kath, make sure you're nice and warm and enjoy crafting while looking out at the wonderful crisp snow:)
    Bejay x

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  15. Oh my giddy aunt,how awful for all of you in Scotland,those poor families trying to cope with it all.Thanks for letting us know you are all safe and sound,and for the pics.Do hope it soon gets better.We are so lucky in St.Agnes,yes we have had heavy rain and gales but nothing to write home about.Thinking of you all.Big Huggles and a Huge Cuddle for Buddy.xx

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  16. Oh my how awful for all those people. I hope they get things sorted soon. So thankful you are safe and thank you for sharing with us.
    Hugs
    Linda xxx

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  17. Glad you are safe and it has stopped raing lovely picture from your of the snow and nice bright sky hugs ginny x

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  18. Thank goodness you are safe and everyone is ok. Hats off to the emergency personnel for all their hard work.

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