Work is ongoing to assess damage to infrastructure and clear significant amounts of debris in Musselburgh resulting from a “one-in-thirty year” flood event last week, East Lothian Council has said.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) issued a flood warning last Thursday, May 23, for the River Esk through Musselburgh with a “high risk of flooding” to property alongside the banks of the river.

A multi-agency flood response group was assembled bringing together representatives from the council, emergency services, Met Office, Scottish Government and SEPA to monitor and respond to the situation. The group met several times over the course of the day and evening remaining in place into last Friday morning. One thousand sandbags and flood barriers were deployed in the area to manage the flood risk to properties.

A boundary wall at Inveresk Gate collapsed while the River Esk breached its bank at Musselburgh Golf Course. A “significant amount” of tree and other wooden debris caught on the bridges will be removed when possible. The condition of the town’s bridges and structures is currently being assessed.

A council spokesperson said: “Over 100mm of rainfall was recorded in the Esk area across two days; this is almost double the average amount for the month of May. An early assessment of available data indicates that the flow in the River Esk was approximately 170 cubic meters of water per second at its peak at 02:30hours on Friday, May 24. In flood risk terminology, this is in the category of a ‘one-in-30 year’ flood event.”

They added: “The town of Musselburgh has a significant flood risk from both the River Esk and the Firth of Forth. These risks may occur either separately or through a combined event. The council is advancing a flood protection scheme for the town which would provide formal defences to protect against coastal and river flood events up to and including a major ‘one-in-200 year’ flood. It will also include an allowance for climate change due to the increase in future flood risk that it will bring. Thursday’s flood event was from high water levels in the River Esk resulting from a prolonged period of rainfall without added pressure from the Firth’s tidal pattern.”

The SEPA rainfall gauge at Gladhouse reservoir, which is within the Esk catchment, recorded 66.8mm rainfall on May 22 and 44mm rainfall on May 23. May has an average rainfall at that location of 58mm. May 2023 was a particularly dry month recording only 32mm.