52 Your Cat November 2017I
n December 2015, Storm
Frank wreaked havoc on
the village of Ballater in
Deeside, east Scotland,
bringing torrential rain and
gale force winds, which
caused widespread chaos
and left thousands of homes
flooded or without power.
The storm began on Boxing
Day and caused flash floods,
with caravans spotted floating
down the River Dee. Buses
became marooned in flooded
roads with passengers
needing to be airlifted to
safety. Trees were brought
down and the Cambus O’May
footbridge over the River Dee
collapsed near the Queen’s
residence in Balmoral.
Worst of all, families who
had to flee their flooded
homes were forced to leaveWhen a storm battered the east
of Scotland, one brave group of
volunteers worked tirelessly to
rescue and reunite lost cats.
When a storm battered the east
of Scotland, one brave group of
volunteers worked tirelessly to
rescue and reunite lost cats.
Storm-tossed
heroes
The devastation caused by
Storm Frank in Deeside.their cats behind in the chaos,
not knowing if they’d be safe
or if they’d ever find them
again. But Cats Protection’s
Deeside branch stepped in to
try to reunite the stricken cats
with their owners.DEVASTATION AND
FEAR IN DEESIDE
Branch co-ordinator Liz
Robinson first became
involved with Cats Protection
in 2007, when there was an
appeal for volunteers and
foster carers to set up a new
branch in Deeside. Liz joined
as a fosterer and, six months
later, found herself running the
new branch and juggling her
duties with working full-time
in a nearby bistro.
Since then, the branch
has grown from just fivevolunteers to 11, and they’ve
had plenty of support from
the local community, which
served them very well when
Storm Frank hit.
Liz recalls that the
conditions during this time
were awful. The River Dee
had burst its banks and the
water came flooding through
the streets like a tsunami.
Hundreds of people had to
be evacuated by the local fire
service and were relocated to
temporary accommodation,
including at the army barracks
in Ballater.
“It was awful. People’s lives
had been totally destroyed.
They were turning up at
the accommodation in their
pyjamas and had nothing left,”
recalls Liz. “They were crying
on my shoulder and needed tosee a friendly face.
“The storm literally
devastated the area and we
knew many cats had gone
missing as a result. I’m quite
well known in Deeside, so
people were coming up to me
and begging me to find their
cats. I had some traps and cat
carriers, so I went to see what
I could do.”
As the water had come
through people’s houses, most“WORKING AS
A TEAM, WE
MANAGED TO
RESCUE THE CATS,
AND IT WAS SUCH
A GREAT FEELING
TO RETURN THEM
TO THEIR OWNERS.”52-54 YC Charity CS(am) EW(SW) CC.indd 52 29/09/2017 12:14