Clean up continues days after Storm Babet hit Fife

The Kingdom was battered by strong winds and heavy rain from Thursday to Saturday last week as the second named storm of the season wreaked havoc across the country with the Met Office issue multiple severe weather warnings.

The region may have escaped the worst of the storm, which saw red ‘danger to life’ warnings in force for parts of Angus, Aberdeenshire and Perth and Kinross, but Storm Babet still left its mark on the Kingdom.

Fallen trees and flooded roads were just some of the problems for the local area, as well as the cancellation of train services for several days. The Fife coast was battered by large waves which have washed a large amount of debris onto the beaches. Among those things to be washed ashore is an abundance of dead sea life.

The wild weather has closed parts of the Fife Coastal Path including the section between Dysart and East Wemyss, and at Kirkcaldy’s Pathhead Sands.

Elsewhere in Fife, falling debris from the Scottish Oceans Institute closed the path at St Andrews’ East Sands over the weekend before repairs could be carried out while fallen trees closed the Fife Pilgrim Way at the Lade Braes and near Craigtoun in St Andrews. Many trees were also brought down at Tentsmuir in North East Fife particularly on the railway path at Morton Lochs as well as at Birnie and Gaddon Lochs.

Fife Coast and Countryside Trust are still assessing the extent of the damage in some parts and are working to make areas safe.

Jeremy Harris, CEO of Fife Coast and Countryside Trust, said: “Storm Babet has caused widespread damage to many locations across Fife. Our teams are currently out assessing sites to identify any risks to the public and do what we can to make safe.

"The Fife Coastal Path has been severely impacted in several areas and the public are asked to check our website for updates as we continue our assessment. Currently, the section between East and West Wemyss is closed. Similarly, Pathhead Sands, Kirkcaldy was flooded by high tides that breached the natural defences. This area will be closed to vehicles from October 24 to allow us to effect repairs.

"The extent of the destruction wrought by this extreme weather event will place significant strain on our limited resources, and we must factor this into our planning as we move forward in caring for Fife’s outdoors in a changing environment.”

Rail passengers faced disruption on Thursday and Friday as services on the Fife Circle and those travelling north beyond the Kingdom were suspended by ScotRail and other rail operators. The disruption continued over the weekend and into Monday as Network Rail teams worked to clear an “unprecedented level of leaf fall” from the tracks.

On the roads among the issues, flooding closed the A92 near Cupar over the weekend, with the section reopening with temporary traffic lights on Monday.

The stormy conditions saw Fife Council’s teams working around the clock.

John Rodigan, Head of Environment and Building Services, said: "We've had teams out during Storm Babet delivering sandbags, removing fallen trees, clearing road gullies and keeping water courses free of obstructions.

"Now the storm has passed our focus is on the clean up and clearance operation. Trees, leaves and other debris will be removed from roads and footpaths. We'll prioritise this work over routine street cleansing and grounds maintenance activities for the next few days.

"The Council's preparations did mitigate some of the disruption caused by the storm and the few areas that did experience flooding will now be looked at by our engineers."

Councillor David Ross, leader of Fife Council, added: “I'm grateful that Fife didn't feel the full force of Storm Babet, though we didn't escape some terrible weather conditions and my sympathy goes out to those affected. I'm proud of the Council teams who worked so hard over the last few days. From those taking the calls in our contact centre, to the teams on the ground clearing gullies or fallen trees, this has been a tremendous effort to keep things moving as best as possible. Work continued over the weekend and into this week and I want to thank everyone involved in the clear up operation.”