THOUSANDS of homes were left without power as floods inundated many parts of Scotland in the wake of Storm Frank.

A massive clean-up operation has begun after strong winds and heavy rain battered much of the country, bringing disruption to road, rail and ferry services and the power grid.

A major incident was declared in the Borders town of Peebles as the River Tweed reached its highest level since 1994, bursting its banks across a wide area.

Twelve people, including two children, had to be rescued from a Stagecoach bus which became stuck in severe flooding near Dailly, Ayrshire. Ten of them had to be airlifted off by Royal Navy helicopter. The other two people were taken off by officers from the police marine unit.

Towns across Aberdeenshire, Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway bore the brunt of the severe weather.

The Scottish Government’s resilience committee met to assess its response, with Environment Minister Aileen McLeod saying the country faced a “very serious situation”.

About 6,000 homes in the north were without power yesterday on Wednesday afternoon.

SSE said faults were caused by wind damage and trees or other debris on the lines.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) (Sepa) issued a “severe flooding – danger to life”– warning for Whitesands in Dumfries and Galloway.

The River Nith burst its banks, causing flooding in Dumfries, while the village of Carsphairn was cut off leading to fire crews rescuing people from properties by boat.

More than 100 flood warnings were in force, while more than 300 homes were evacuated in Hawick. Travel on motorways and rural routes alike was severely disrupted by surface water and motorists were urged to avoid unnecessary journeys.

The torrential rain and gales caused a landslip closing the A83 in Argyll and flooding closed the M74 in South Lanarkshire. In Perth and Kinross, more than a dozen roads were closed due to flooding, with access to Aberfeldy being particularly restricted.

Emergency services responded to scores of incidents, with hundreds of people evacuated from homes in Ballater, Aberdeenshire.

Residents in three roads were sent to a rest centre set up at the Victoria Barracks and nearby Aboyne Academy.

Homes were also evacuated in Newton Stewart and Carsphairn in Dumfries and Galloway, while the Gourock Ropework building in Port Glasgow was surrounded by floodwater, with some residents unable to leave their homes.

Police, HM Coastguard and the Scottish Ambulance Service were also called out after a kayaker got into difficulty in the River Findhorn.

In Ayrshire, those trapped in the bus were rescued in a multi-agency operation involving Police Scotland, Scottish Fire and Rescue, Royal Navy and HM Coastguard.

Four men, six women, aone boy of seven and a girl aged five were taken from the bus, which was trapped by rising water.

The vehicle had been travelling from Girvan to Ayr when it became stuck in Linfern Road near to a golf course.

Many took to social media to post pictures of the devastation, with images of cars floating down flooded streets in Port Glasgow and flooded towns and village streets appearing on Twitter and Facebook.

Ms McLeod said: “We are dealing with a very serious situation as a result of Storm Frank.

“Weather warnings from the Met Office have unfolded as forecast and much of Scotland has been experiencing strong winds, torrential rain and rising rivers.

“The Scottish Government’s resilience team is closely monitoring the situation which is still developing as persistent rain continues to fall on to saturated ground – and is expected to deteriorate further as river levels continue to rise, even after the rain has stopped.

“It is imperative that people look for and take heed of the latest warnings, information and advice from Sepa, Police Scotland and Traffic Scotland.

“In particular, consider whether you need to travel and take all possible precautions to stay safe, particularly in the worst-affected areas.”

Vincent Fitzsimons, from Sepa, said: “The worst of the rainfall has largely passed but larger rivers will take some time to react as the water moves down towards the sea.

“Some are reacting now but in areas like Dumfries the worst of the flooding is expected to coincide with high tide.

“Rivers further east will take longer to respond.

“Areas like Callander, Perth, Deeside and Spey will continue to see rising levels and some will not peak until the 31st.”