:00:00. > :00:07.We are back with the late news at 10pm.
:00:08. > :00:11.There are warnings of flooding and large coastal waves tonight,
:00:12. > :00:15.as persistent wind and rain batter parts of Scotland.
:00:16. > :00:18.The Met Office has issued amber be prepared alerts of rain for much
:00:19. > :00:24.Our reporter Aileen Clarke is in Ballater, where new barriers
:00:25. > :00:30.aim to prevent a repeat of last week's floods.
:00:31. > :00:38.The River Dee at Ballater today and on its banks, an illustration of how
:00:39. > :00:46.destructive it can be. At the local church this afternoon, a special
:00:47. > :00:52.Service of Thanksgiving. It's thanksgiving for the community.
:00:53. > :00:58.Donations coming in. You name it, we are getting it and we can thank
:00:59. > :01:01.everybody enough. We really can't. The committee could find itself
:01:02. > :01:08.flooded again and it's led to this massive barrier being built. There
:01:09. > :01:11.is now 800 tonnes of sand making up this barrier and the idea is if the
:01:12. > :01:16.river burst its banks again and comes over here through the golf
:01:17. > :01:21.course, the barrier will stem it and turn it around to run back into the
:01:22. > :01:28.river down there. And even here, much help from volunteers. We opened
:01:29. > :01:34.a 5am to fill the bags up. Local companies have given us machinery,
:01:35. > :01:42.drivers, to physically get the bags here. We had to buy guns -- wagons
:01:43. > :01:51.over the weekend. Last night, Aberdeen lifeboat crew helped
:01:52. > :01:54.restore power line the river. Today work continues to check all the
:01:55. > :01:57.properties that have been flooded, and reconnect them but it will take
:01:58. > :02:03.more than electricity to put Ballater back on its feet. The golf
:02:04. > :02:09.course is virtually wiped out. And the caravan park. We just hope and
:02:10. > :02:16.pray that tourism will continue and tourists will support Ballater. For
:02:17. > :02:20.those people still trying to salvage possessions, the thought of more
:02:21. > :02:23.flooding is more than they can bear. Very frightened and scared.
:02:24. > :02:35.Aileen, how worried are people there?
:02:36. > :02:41.Well, so far, this massive barrier featured today has not been in
:02:42. > :02:47.service, the river has not burst its banks so far. I'm told the next key
:02:48. > :02:52.point all those who are watching to see what's going to happen is going
:02:53. > :02:56.to be between 5am and 6am tomorrow, the next high water mark we are
:02:57. > :03:03.concerned about about eight miles from here on the outskirts... I'm
:03:04. > :03:10.sorry, we have lost that link. Four. The Deputy First Minister has
:03:11. > :03:12.defended cutting the budget to SEPA, the agency responsible for flood
:03:13. > :03:15.warning and flood risk management. In his recent draft budget
:03:16. > :03:17.for the next financial year, John Swinney reduced
:03:18. > :03:19.the agency's funding by 6%. Scottish Labour says local
:03:20. > :03:21.authorities affected by flooding are struggling to find
:03:22. > :03:23.sufficient funds. The Scottish Government says it's
:03:24. > :03:25.committed to doing all it can. Capital funding is in place
:03:26. > :03:41.for flood prevention schemes What we do is to make sure that all
:03:42. > :03:45.of the preventative activity that we can undertake is put in place to
:03:46. > :03:49.support communities in establishing a much more resilient approach to
:03:50. > :03:53.dealing with flooding and to ensure that we support communities where
:03:54. > :03:57.these very harsh things take their course. We need a review with local
:03:58. > :04:01.authorities to identify priority areas. Where we have had investment
:04:02. > :04:06.we can see the difference is made to those communities. With climate
:04:07. > :04:09.change and extreme weather this year, I would argue we need a proper
:04:10. > :04:11.review noted a cutout to progress over the next few years.
:04:12. > :04:16.We've already heard, still no let up in sight
:04:17. > :04:28.Tuesday we will see things improving. It is an intense spell of
:04:29. > :04:34.rain across this part of the world. Thank you, Sally. The rain coming
:04:35. > :04:46.tonight and into tomorrow. We do have an amber "be prepared" warning.
:04:47. > :04:51.It's a persistent rain falling already. The warning is right
:04:52. > :04:55.through until late tomorrow night. The reason for all this is we have
:04:56. > :05:01.low pressure to the south. High over Scandinavia, weather fronts banging
:05:02. > :05:05.in just keep coming, bringing rain along with strong south-easterly
:05:06. > :05:10.winds driving the rain across the sensitive north-east corner. A wet
:05:11. > :05:14.night to come. We have coastal areas to contend with. Rain for most of us
:05:15. > :05:23.initially but then becomes drier in southern and Scotland overnight.
:05:24. > :05:28.4-5dC. Tomorrow, and east-west split for much of the day. Western
:05:29. > :05:33.Scotland loses rain and becomes drier. Some brightness, some showers
:05:34. > :05:40.but the rain keeps driving across eastern Scotland. An amber warning
:05:41. > :05:45.in force. The wind eases slightly. Temperatures reaching 6-7. That is
:05:46. > :05:47.your forecast. Judith, thank you very much for that.
:05:48. > :05:51.We're both back with an update just after the Ten O'Clock News.
:05:52. > :05:54.Until then, you can keep up with the latest news,
:05:55. > :05:55.sport and weather on BBC Scotland's website.
:05:56. > :06:09.From everyone here, have a good evening.
:06:10. > :06:14.Hello. It has been a wet Sunday for most of us and with more rain to
:06:15. > :06:15.come there is