Residents of Ellon were forced to evacuate their homes in the early hours of yesterday morning after the River Ythan rose to record levels.
Coastguards were sent to the town from Aberdeen, Cruden Bay and Montrose alongside fire crews to help people who found water rising inside buildings.
But the community spirit proved strong as the new Ellon Community Campus opened its doors and offered shelter to more than 100 people who had been evacuated.
A spokeswoman for the coastguard said: “Coastguard rescue teams have been supporting the multi-agency effort over the past 24 hours across Aberdeenshire in what has been exceptionally challenging conditions.
“In Ellon, the coastguard helped to evacuate several elderly and disabled residents from a badly-affected street.”
One of these was Stephen Edwards, who lives on the Meadows and the 65-year-old subsequently described the experience.
He said: “We all saw the river rising at around 9 or 10pm in the evening.
“We’ve lived here for 12 years and we’ve seen it rise before, so I headed to bed around midnight.
“Later on, the water was at the door and everyone was trying to get out.
“At first I was determined to stay because I thought the water would not make it upstairs, but then the fire crew told me I was putting them in danger by staying, so I was taken through a window onto a boat.”
He added: “I can’t praise the fire crew enough, there were eight or nine of them up from Dundee, they were patient and did a great job.”
He arrived at the new Ellon Community Campus in the early hours of the morning:
Mr Edwards praised their hospitality, saying: “We were greeted in the morning by the headteacher and the canteen staff were handing out free tea and coffee, it was all so professional.”
More than 100 people went to the school during the day and many were later offered accommodation in the Buchan Hotel.
Another who was hit by the floods was George Thomson, whose property near South Road was flooded.
His son Craig Thomson joined the rescue mission overnight.
The 40-year-old said: “At around 1am, the water started to get into the house and everything got flooded.
“The house has only been here around ten to fifteen years, and my parents have been here for six years.
“People are saying it’s the worst flooding here for more than 100 years, and although the water is slowly edging out today, there has been a lot of damage done.”