Flood Warning System Failure Causes Flooding

The flood warning system at the Deephope gauging station failed.  The Tima Water, a tributary of the Ettrick Water rose above the alarm level and warnings should have gone to several groups in the Ettrick Valley in the Borders.  A malfunction occurred in the handling system that is responsible for forwarding alarms as text messages.  As a result, homes and businesses were flooded without warning.

Homes and businesses were flooded without warning.  A spokesmanf ro SEPA said:  “We would like to apologise to Borders residents for a failure in their flood warning system and would like to reassure them the system has now been checked and the fault corrected.”