ABERDEEN, Scotland, Aug. 7 (UPI) -- Residents of the Scottish village of Pennan are happy to be alive this week after a massive series of mudslides completely engulfed most of their homes.
Those sleeping in their homes during the nighttime mudslides described how the disaster quickly filled the village with rising levels of mud and water, making escape a difficult task, The Scotsman reported Tuesday.
"It was pitch black," resident Tim Blakey said of Monday's disaster. "You couldn't see a thing in front of you. As soon as we got out of the cottage, we were knee deep in water and there was mud everywhere."
Somehow everyone living in the homes that took on the brunt of the mudslides escaped unharmed.
The mudslides occurred after soil on three separate local slopes was weakened by torrential rains and created a wave of mud that decimated the village before ending up in a nearby harbor.
The newspaper said a massive clean-up operation is under way, and Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond toured the area to determine the extent of the damages.
