Borders businesses left counting the cost as clean-up gets underway following Storm Isha
'It was actually scary how quick the water came over...'
Last updated 22nd Jan 2024
The full extent of the damage caused by Storm Isha in the Borders is becoming clearer, as a major clean-up operation gets underway.
A number of businesses in Jedburgh were flooded overnight after the Jed Water burst its banks.
Local resident Jack Laidlaw watched the river rise to record levels.
Speaking to Greatest Hits Radio outside Riverside Park - part of which remains under water - he said: "Most of the businesses in Bankend (industrial estate) are devastated. It's quite catastrophic for the town.
"The Jed Water seemed to reach the danger level of three-and-a-half metres in Jedburgh - which is the highest ever recorded - sometime around 10pm; and then we seemed to hit a spike, and we went right up to 3.63. So probably about 124 millimetres higher than what the last record was, which is quite devastating.
"It will be phenomenal the cost to actually repair. There are cars, vans, everything all over the place - washed down the river. And I think part of the old railway line at Bonjedward has been washed away as well."
WATCH: Click on the link below to view our video of the clean-up...
A number of homes had to be evacuated in Jedburgh amid concerns over rising water levels, and a refuge centre was also set up in the Town Hall as the main route through the town was submerged, along with the local filling station.
Cars were abandoned at the side of the A68 after becoming stranded in flood water, but the cross-border route has now reopened.
A number of other roads were also blocked, and more than 2,000 homes left without electricity after trees blown over in the wind brought down power lines.
All services remain suspended on the Borders Railway while a full assessment of any damage to the track is carried out.
Lana Spence works at Michael Wares Cater Hire in Jedburgh, but revealed installing floodgates and deploying sandbags were not enough to protect them.
"It was awful, it was really quite bad," she said. "It was actually scary how quick it came over. I was here ten minutes putting that barrier up, and it was flooded."
Staff at the Border Meringues coffee shop in Jedburgh's Edinburgh Road told us they don't know when, or if, they'll be able to reopen.
Stean Weekley, who works at local building firm John Laidlaw & Son, added: "It was chaos. The water must have been at least two or three feet (in the yard) last night, and came into disaster this morning. All the water's disappeared and just left a trail of mud, so we're just clearing up the wreckage."
No weather warnings are currently in force for the Borders, however yellow weather warnings for wind and for rain have been issued by the Met Office for Tuesday and Wednesday.
A spokesperson said: "A spell of strengthening west or southwesterly winds is expected to affect Northern Ireland, north Wales, northern England and Scotland from Tuesday evening, associated with Storm Jocelyn.
"Winds are widely expected to gust to 55-65 mph, with a few exposed locations possibly seeing in excess of this.
"Outbreaks of heavy rain during Tuesday will see accumulations widely of 15 to 20mm, with 40mm over high ground of southwest Scotland. The heavier persistent rain will give way to blustery showers by evening."
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