FLOOD-hit householders and business owners across Scotland face fresh misery as more heavy rainfall is set to batter the country following the devastation of Storm Frank.

New weather warnings have been issued by the Met Office, focusing on central Scotland, Tayside and Grampian.

The amber ‘be prepared’ warnings are in place until tomorrow night – and forecasters warn more than 200mm – eight inches – of rain could fall in that time.

There was huge disruption for travellers yesterday when the Invercauld Bridge into Braemar in Aberdeenshire was closed after it began crumbling. Drivers were forced to take a 120-mile diversion via Blairgowrie.

Train passengers travelling between Central Scotland and Inverness were also hit with disruption due to flooding on the railway network.

It came as thousands of families try to come to terms with the damage caused by Storm Frank in the run up to the New Year.

Persistent rainfall and high winds wreaked havoc across the country, claiming the lives of two people in Scotland and causing severe flooding in the Dumfries and Aberdeenshire areas. More than 6000 homes were left without power in the early hours of Wednesday.

Police confirmed a 36-year-old man died as a result of the flooding after he fell from a canoe into the River Garry on Thursday afternoon.

An 18-year-old man who fell from the same canoe managed to get to shore and has since been discharged from hospital.

The death came after Police Scotland recovered the body of a kayaker. The man, believed to be in his 50s, had been missing since he got into difficulties on the Findhorn river near Inverness on Wednesday.

Environment Minister Aileen McLeod, who visited Newton Stewart, in Dumfries and Galloway, with the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, said the situation was being monitored "24/7".

She added: "Along with my ministerial colleagues - including the First Minister and Deputy First Minister – I have been participating in regular resilience meetings to discuss the situation and the co-ordination of the response."

Vincent Fitzsimons, hydrology duty manager at Sepa, said at the peak of Storm Frank more than 100 flood warnings were in place.

Sepa yesterday issued 15 flood warnings in Scotland and three flood alerts.

Due to the continued rainfall Fitzsimons said agencies were keeping a “particularly close eye” on communities in the areas already damaged.

Met Office Forecaster Peter Sloss, based in Aberdeen, said the east of Scotland was experiencing an “exceptional” amount of rain.

He said: “There could be up to 200mm of rain which is 8 inches of rain over the weekend. It’s a huge amount for that part of the world.

“In the west of Scotland, which is historically wetter, that would be quite noticeable but for eastern Scotland to get that amount of rain over 70 hours it is quite exceptional.”

Sloss said the storm had now passed but the prolonged rainfall was concerning.

He said: “Frank’s gone and now we’re into a different set up. We have an area of low pressure but it’s not deep enough to be named.

“It’s producing quite a strong easterly wind and bringing a lot of rain into eastern Scotland especially the high ground. The situation is not changing over the next three days so we’re going to have the same areas getting the rain.

“It will gradually build up over the next few days and will have a localised flooding impact.”

The unpredictable weather has hampered the storm clean-up.

In Dumfries volunteers worked with teams of council workers and emergency service staff around the Whitesands area by the river Nith, removing debris and clearing mud from businesses.

In the Aberdeenshire area volunteers were making door-to-door visits to see what help was needed.

Owen Caldwell, owner of the Old Bridge Inn in Aviemore, said his business is recovering after being flooded in heavy rainfall. The recent stormy weather meant the recovery work had to be put on hold and the pub is still closed.

He said: "It's put us on hold again. We were very close to becoming flooded again. It's a knock on effect to the whole village and for tourism."

He called on the Government and agencies to do more to tackle the issue.

Caldwell said: "It does seem like we should make more money available to the people of Britain to reinforce our flood defences.

"Clearly that money is there somewhere but it's not being prioritised. I think it's a real shame that at this time of year people are being left to pay the price because the infrastructure hasn't been invested in.

"We know that the water levels are rising, we can see more flooding taking place year on year - clearly decisions are being made not to protect us from that."

This week, forecasters say, a colder spell is likely to hit and there could be some snow.

Sloss, of the Met Office, said: "Gradually the colder air from Scandinavia will filter through Scotland on Monday night and Tuesday.

"It will eventually push the rain down and the showers will turn wintery across Scotland. I think any significant snow will be on high ground but there could be some sleet and snow on lower ground on Tuesday or Wednesday."