A national emergency should be called to help a deprived area of Glasgow recover from serious flooding, an MSP has claimed.

Dorothy-Grace Elder said some of those affected were now "virtually refugees in their own city".

The Independent MSP for Glasgow, who resigned from the Scottish National Party earlier this year, has also called for the city's drainage system to be renewed.

Some 80% of flood victims are on benefits and most do not have insurance

Dorothy-Grace Elder

Hundreds of people living in the east end of Glasgow were forced to spend a night in emergency accommodation due to the flooding on Tuesday.

Glasgow City Council said that 1,500 residents living in 500 homes were affected at the height of the problems.

"On Tuesday, drains overflowed in the east end, rescue boats were in the streets and hundreds were left homeless," said Ms Elder.

"In view of Shettleston, the worst affected area, being officially the poorest and unhealthiest constituency in Britain, I want the flood aftermath treated as a national emergency."

She said it was "the poor and the sick" who had lost out in the flooding.

Inspecting damage

"Some 80% of flood victims are on benefits and most do not have insurance.

"Their lives have been wiped out," she claimed.

Ms Elder said that many of those affected were "very angry" that the Scottish Executive had not intervened.

Finance Minister Andy Kerr visited the Shettleston area to inspect the damage on Friday.

Hundreds of people moved out of their homes

He said the Scottish Executive and Glasgow City Council would do their utmost to help those affected.

However, he said the executive would not bail out those who were not covered by insurance.

Ms Elder also said she had warned the European Parliament about Glasgow's drainage system three weeks before the floods.

She went to Brussels to appeal against Scottish Water's decision to allow an incinerator being sited at Carntyne to discharge cattle blood into the public sewers.

The MSP said the drains had to be improved and argued that that the system in the east end of the city could not cope with heavy rainfall.

Flood prevention

"Local people have been warning about bad drains for years," she added.

A Scottish Executive spokeswoman said it had ensured that councils have the powers and resources to deal with flood prevention.

"We are aware that Glasgow City Council is investigating problems in Shettleston with a view to finding a solution," she said.

The spokeswoman said the executive had "substantially increased" resources for major flood prevention and coast protection schemes.

Sewerage system

"Also, Scottish Water plan to invest over �400m over the next four years in improving sewerage systems in Scotland.

"This investment should reduce the numbers of properties liable to flooding from the sewerage system, reduce the number of sewer blockages and improve the environment by tightening up the sewerage system," she said.

A city council spokesman said the flooding had been caused by "a combination of things".

Speaking after the floods, he said excessive rain and the ageing sewage system were both factors.