Major incident stood down after homes evacuated due to flooding

Hawick residents who were evacuated following major floods in the Scottish Borders on Thursday have been allowed to return to their homes.

Persistent and heavy rainfall brought damage to properties and swelled the nearby River Tweed and River Teviot.

Scottish Borders Council (SBC), Police Scotland, NHS Borders and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service declared the situation a major incident.

Trinity Primary School and Hawick High School also both closed early, with pupils and staff being sent home over safety concerns.

SBC has now confirmed that the incident has been declared over after river levels began to fall at around 10pm on Thursday.

In a statement the council said: “The evacuation of residents has now ceased and members of the public are being advised that they are safe to return to their homes.”

A maximum river level of 2.9m was reached at 7.30pm.

The rest centre at Teviotdale Centre, which was opened to provide assistance and shelter to those displaced from their homes, was stood down at around 9pm.

Council staff were on hand to assist residents back to their homes and provide any further information required.

There are no concerns for any further flooding in other communities as river levels in areas of note are now falling.

All schools in the area reopened on Friday morning, however parents and pupils were advised that they may experience travel disruptions with roads and public transport effected.