Heavy rain has flooded homes and brought disruption to roads in areas across the north and east of Scotland.
Environment protection agency Sepa said river levels in areas of north and east Scotland affected by floods appeared to have peaked.
More than 500 homes in Moray were evacuated in what the local authority described as a major incident.
It said the outlook for the next few days was an improving situation, with no significant rainfall expected.
Aberdeen had its wettest September day since records began in 1943, with a month's average rainfall dropping in the 24 hours until 0900 BST.
More than 500 homes in Moray were evacuated on Friday and Aberdeen had its wettest September day in decades.
Environment protection agency Sepa said river levels in affected areas appeared to have peaked.
Motorists were advised against travelling by police, who described the conditions as "treacherous".
It said the outlook for the next 48 hours was an improving situation, with no significant rainfall expected.
River burst
Heavy rain overnight and through the morning caused road closures across Grampian, Tayside, Fife, Perth and Kinross, while East Coast Mainline trains were disrupted.
Emergency services assisted residents as about 400 homes in the Elgin area and 50 in Fochabers were evacuated due to flooding around the rivers Lossie and Spey.
Aberdeen city centre was badly affected [Pic: Mark McHardy]
A small road bridge across the River Spey was swept away by the force of the water and the river burst its banks at Kingston, near Elgin.
Emergency services in Moray monitored water levels throughout Thursday night.
Flooding also hit Aberdeenshire, with the Deveron overflowing on the Dufftown Road side of Huntly.
They took the decision to evacuate 40 homes in Fochabers at about 0200 BST after 20 suffered flooding.
Aberdeen received more rainfall in 24 hours than in the average month.
Two bridges were also swept away by flood waters.
Houses were also flooded in Rothes.
Local resident Ian Gordon told BBC Radio Scotland: "The flood water is in my home and it is in maybe 15 or 20 homes in my immediate area. Some houses are quite bad, water was maybe 2ft up the doors of some of the houses.
"We're absolutely not happy. We were flooded here 12 years ago, the same bridge, same problem, and we were promised that it would be replaced with a steel bridge or a single arch bridge, concrete or whatever, and nothing has been done."
Anne Innes was at her mother's house in Elgin when flood warnings were received in the early hours of the morning.
She said: "It's been flooded twice before and my mother spent several months out of the house. The authorities have reacted better this time because we actually got a flood warning at 2am, then another one at 4am.
"The last time it happened she lost possessions because there were no flood warnings.
This is an anxious time for families and communities, both for those already directly affected by the floods and for those who may be in danger of being affected Richard LochheadEnvironment secretary In pictures: Rain chaos
"We'll just have to hope it doesn't get as bad as it was the last time."
In Elgin, people were moved out of their homes as water levels rose on the River Lossie.
A rest centre opened at Elgin High School for evacuated households.
Moray Council estimated that up to 560 homes in the town could be affected.
Sepa said upstream water levels on the Lossie had peaked by mid-afternoon and it expected them to continue to drop slowly.
About 76.4mm of rain fell in Lossiemouth in the 24-hour period to 0900 BST. The town's monthly average is 61.8mm.
Just over 67mm of rain fell in the Aberdeen city area in the same period. Its monthly average is 68mm.
Some cars on roads in Aberdeen city centre and the Dyce area were submerged.
Some cars on roads in Aberdeen city centre and the Dyce area were submerged.
Rivers in the area were at record high levels.
About 76.4mm of rain fell in Lossiemouth in the 24-hour period to 0900 BST. The town's monthly average is 61.8mm.
The Grange - a tributary of the Deveron - recorded a level of 3.651m.
Moray SNP MP Angus Robertson said: "Water levels are higher than I have ever seen them before and communities have rallied to support people whose homes and businesses have been flooded.
In Edinburgh, the river at Haddington peaked just below the critical flooding level, although there have been reports of basements flooding.
The rain caused severe floods in areas such as Dyce [Pic: Mark Allan]
"The objective must now be for everyone to help the victims of the worst flooding to hit Moray for many years to assist them rebuild their lives and get back to normality as quickly as possible.
"The hard lessons learnt from this latest devastation include the need for local agencies to redouble their efforts to get flood prevention measures into place and to recognise that climate change will only lead to more flooding in the future."
Environment Secretary and Moray MSP Richard Lochhead travelled to Moray to view the affected areas after cancelling his other engagements.
He said: "Council and emergency services personnel have been working flat out to protect families and communities and hundreds of people have been evacuated, mainly on a precautionary basis."
In Tayside, parts of the villages of Letham and Bridgefoot in Angus were badly affected, with several properties flooded with water a foot deep in places.
In Tayside, parts of the villages of Letham and Bridgefoot in Angus were badly affected, with several properties flooded with water a foot deep in places.
At Bridgefoot, police officers rescued a mother and her three children, aged five and under, after her car became stuck in water shortly after 0900 BST.
At Bridgefoot, police officers rescued a mother and her three children, aged five and under, after her car became stuck in water on Friday morning.
Environment secretary and Moray MSP Richard Lochhead said: "This is an anxious time for families and communities, both for those already directly affected by the floods and for those who may be in danger of being affected as the situation progresses.
Sepa has three serious flood alerts in place covering the River Lossie at Elgin, the River Spey from Grantown to Fochabers and from Fochabers to Spey Bay.
"Council and emergency services personnel have been working flat out to protect families and communities and hundreds of people have been evacuated, mainly on a precautionary basis.
Moray Council said flood levels appeared to have peaked although they would continue to rise in affected areas until the water flows out to sea.
"I have spoken to both the chief executive of Moray Council and Grampian Police and it is clear that the emergency arrangements in hand are working."
The weather forced the cancellation of the launch of Dundee's two-week food and drink festival, which was due to have been opened by Mr Lochhead and celebrity chef Nick Nairn. However, organisers said the festival would go ahead at the weekend as planned.
