The devastation caused in Scotland in the wake of Storm Babet must be a "wake up call" for climate action, a Scottish Green MSP has said.
Two people died and hundreds of Brechin residents were forced to evacuate their homes after severe flooding brought on by record-breaking rainfall last month.
Speaking in a parliamentary debate on the floods, Maggie Chapman said: “Storm Babet brought devastating consequences to communities up and down the north east of Scotland.
Read more: 'Wettest October on record' for areas of Scotland battered by Storm Babet
“It is the latest extreme weather event that must be taken as a serious wake up call for all of us elected to serve our communities – the climate emergency is here, and it is our responsibility to support measures that will address the impacts and mitigate the risks for people and our share of the planet."
Ms Chapman said Storm Babet highlighted the importance of physical infrastructure and emergency response in times of disaster, and Scotland's need to "climate-proof" its communities.
And she also cited the need to consider "nature-based solutions" such as peatland restoration and reforestation, particularly in upland areas to "mitigate consequences downstream".
'Residents fear warm words from politicians'
The Green MSP was speaking as part of a Scottish Parliament debate on supporting communities to mitigate flooding impacts and increase resilience.
Calling the debate, Maurice Golden said the storm has "left a terrible trail of destruction in its wake".
The Conservative MSP for North East Scotland described the devastation as "massive" and "deeply distressing" and said: "This is one of the costliest weather events in Scottish history".
He said the river in Brechin is estimated to have exceeded 4.4 metres above its normal level.
And the MSP urged the Government to ensure local authorities are adequately funded to respond to future weather conditions.
Mr Golden said: "It’s a fair question to ask for the details of how much and how long support will be provided for those forced out of their homes or counting the cost of ruined businesses, face months of disruption.
“The fear they have is the warm words coming from politicians with no follow up.
“It also plays into a wider concern I’ve seen in local communities that there’s insufficient leadership from the Scottish Government.
“There’s a view that ministers turn up, listen sympathetically, and then leave it to the local authority to sort things out. Well, that can’t work because water flows and flooding are beyond the scope of any one local authority.”
During a visit to Brechin in the aftermath of the storm, First Minister Humza Yousaf pledged to provide the necessary support to councils in order to help those impacted.
In Holyrood on Wednesday (November 1), Scottish Labour’s Sarah Boyack “urgently” demanded to know “what work is being done to review existing and planned flood prevent infrastructure”.
Amid warnings Scotland could face “more frequent and more intense extreme weather events”, she said both lives and livelihoods could be at risk in the future.
Ms Boyack said: “It’s a now issue. We need to do the heavy lifting now, to build resilient infrastructure.”
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