A flood expert has warned that the scenes witnessed across many parts of Scotland over the past 24 hours will become a common occurrence.

George Fleming, a UK Government advisor on flood defences, told BBC Radio Scotland that global warming would cause more flash floods in the future.

Main roads have re-opened following the flooding that hit Scotland on Tuesday in a deluge that a rail official described as the worst in years.

But people have been warned to prepare for more of the same.

Mr Fleming said: "What our study has indicated is that the one in five-year flood seems to be taking on the appearance of an annual event.

"Our flood defence design does not have the capacity to deal with the intensive floods.

The weather caused chaos on the roads

"It means that the drainage system will choke up. It shouldn't cause problems in our cities if we manage our system better than we have done in the past.

"It is really everyone in the community who has to be conscious about what we need to do.

"For example, the streets connect to road gullies and it is the choking of those road gullies which has probably caused most of the problems in the last day or so.

"You can design a system but you must manage and maintain that system."

'Social implications'

The freak weather conditions brought chaos to much of Scotland's rail network with engineers fighting to clear landslides.

A lightning strike led to disruption in the electricity supply to tens of thousands of Edinburgh consumers.

The weather is predicted to remain unsettled with intense showers expected to lead to more localised flooding.

Mr Fleming said road maintenance for flood risk management was at an all-time low and required an overhaul to cope with the extreme conditions.

"We have to upgrade our flood management structures and defence systems to cope with the extreme floods in the future," he said.

"The social damage to individuals' houses, their health and the whole fabric of our communities, the social implications are much greater than just the physical damage itself."