Brechin man Euan Clark believed he was going to die when his home was engulfed by several feet of water at the height of Storm Babet.
Wearing only a pair of shorts and raising his beloved dog Sasha above the rising water, Euan made a dash for safety after his River Street property was hit when the town’s flood defences failed in the early hours of Friday morning.
With the water chest high, Euan says he has never been so afraid and that he genuinely feared for his life.
He told us: “I was terrified. I really thought I was going to drown.
‘I have been left with nothing’
Safe at his parents’ home on Saturday, Euan says all of his possessions were destroyed when the flood waters filled his home.
But he believes that a call from his dad saved his life – and stopped him from sleeping through the floods.
Euan says that on Thursday night, along with other residents in River Street, he got a knock at his door from local coastguard teams suggesting he leave his property as the water levels in the river continued to rise.
However, Euan decided to stay put, eventually going to bed around 1.30am
At 4am he got a frantic call from his dad, Johnny, telling him the flood defences had burst, with his father ordering him to get out of his house.
Wearing only his shorts, he grabbed 14-year-old collie Sasha and started his attempt to leave.
A wall of water
Euan said: “The water was around a foot deep in the house but when I opened the door there was a wall of water and I was knocked over by the force of it.”
Lifting Sasha above his head, Euan struggled through the freezing water which was by now up to his chest.
He added: “There was a strong current although I couldn’t really feel it because adrenalin was keeping me going the water was freezing.”
A couple of locals appeared on the scene as he yelled for help at the top of his voice.
He added: “I was screaming and asking for help and the lads just keep encouraging me onwards.”
After around 50 metres, Euan reached safer ground.
‘A total mess’
Euan said: “We got out safely thank goodness but I have lost absolutely everything in the flood.
“I managed to get back into my house on Saturday morning and it is a total mess.
“There are several inches of mud everywhere, there is a mark on the wall as high as me.
“All my furniture is soaked and covered in mud and upside down.
“Absolutely every is ruined and to make it worse I don’t have any insurance.”
Euan says it’s almost impossible to get insurance given his address is in a high flood-risk area.
He said: “All I want to know is when I will get back into my home.
“I’m lucky I can stay with my parents but there are hundreds of families who have been left homeless.”