A CLEAN up operation was under way today after major flooding hit parts of Scotland.
Rail passengers also faced disruption after flooding and a landslip on the Dundee to Aberdeen train route halted services.
Passengers were transferred to replacement bus services and told to expect longer journey times.
In Dundee itself more th
an 100 properties were thought to be damaged after it was hit by severe floods, the fire service said.
The city was deluged as heavy rain sent up to 4ft of water surging through the streets yesterday.
The city centre was closed off during the rush hour as water flooded into shops in the city's commercial hub.
Tayside Fire and Rescue Service incident commander Stewart Edgar said: "It is the worst flooding we have had for some years."
The floods began at about 5pm, when heavy rain began to fall.
It was at a time of high tide, so the water was unable to run off into the rivers and the sea, as it normally would.
Instead, it was pushed back into the city centre, coming up through sewers and manholes.
The worst affected streets were Trades Lane, Dock Street, and Candle Lane.
Shopkeepers told how the downpour caused thousands of pounds of damage to their businesses.
Suhail Akhtar, managing director of SA Computer World, in Trades Lane, said: "There was about one-and-a-half feet of water going down the street and it just came in through the front door.
"People started trying to move their cars out of the street, but it had a tidal wave effect.
"The whole road was like a bed of water from one wall to the other wall."
Some of his stock which was on the floor when the water came in, was damaged.
Mr Akhtar, whose shop has only been open six weeks, estimated the damage at £50,000 to £60,000.
Eight fire engines and up to 50 firefighters were involved in dealing with flood damage around the city centre.
A fire service spokesman said it responded to around 30 flooding-related incidents over the course of the evening.
The water receded at about 8pm.
Tayside Police said that no roads in the city were closed due to flooding this morning.
There was also flooding in the Linlithgow area which was caused by blocked drains.
Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue said that some properties were flooded with a few inches of water.
Meanwhile, train services between Dundee and Aberdeen were halted after heavy rains deluged the track in several places.
Train operator First ScotRail said the flooding was in Inverkeilor, Angus, while the landslip was in the Carmont area.
A First ScotRail spokeswoman said: "Network Rail are investigating the extent of the damage and we are working very closely with them to make sure we can get services back as quickly as possible.
"At this stage we do not have any further detail of when we will be able to operate services."
She said that replacement bus services were running between the two cities.
The full article contains 515 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
