The Scottish government has said it will consider emergency funding for local authorities to help deal with the costs of flood damage.
It activated the Bellwin Scheme after representations from Moray Council.
Elgin's £86m flood alleviation scheme was put to the test on Monday when the area was hit by the remnants of Hurricane Bertha.
But 200 homes were evacuated over fears the River Lossie would burst its banks where the project is not completed.
Properties in parts of Aberdeenshire were also evacuated as the water level rose.
In Huntly, residents in local care homes were moved to the town's Jubilee Hospital, while about 150 people staying in a caravan park in Ballater were also evacuated.
Amateur footage shows a raging torrent in Kingussie
Finance Secretary John Swinney said: "We know, and I have seen for myself, just how devastating the effects of flooding can be for our communities. That is why I have today agreed to activate the Bellwin Scheme to provide support to affected councils to assist with immediate and unforeseen costs of dealing with the aftermath of the severe weather.
"As the full impact on local communities continues to be assessed, we stand ready to provide urgent assistance and the Scottish government will consider applications from local authorities for emergency funding through the Bellwin Scheme."
The Letters to Loggie road has been closed, eight miles south of Ullapool on Lochbroom 
There was a dramatic scene in Nairn after the heavy rain 
This road outside Tomintoul collapsed Torrential rain brought by ex-Hurricane Bertha caused the wettest day of the year so far, with Fair Isle in Shetland seeing 132.6mm of rain between 10:00 on Saturday and 10:00 on Monday - almost double the 70.3mm full-month average for August.
Lossiemouth in Moray was deluged with 100mm of rain during the same time, despite a full-month average of 61.9mm. Parts of Aberdeenshire saw wind gusts of 50mph.
Arrangements were made for some of the evacuated residents to be taken to a rest centre set up at Elgin High School.
A Moray Council spokesman said: "We evacuated homes along the River Lossie but it was very much as a precaution. No homes have been damaged at the moment but the river was getting perilously close to bursting its banks.
"It's an area that's been badly affected be flooding in the past so we wanted to act quickly."
Sand bags were distributed to residents, with areas along the rivers Spey, Dee and Deveron on alert.
Elgin was one of the areas badly hit 
The rail line at Huntly was under water 
Part of the A938 at Duthil near Carrbridge fell away The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) has almost 40 flood warnings in place, indicating flooding is expected, and eight flood alerts, where flooding is possible.
Drivers have been urged to exercise caution on northern routes.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said crews attended more than 50 incidents in the Highlands, many of which involved people being stranded after attempting to drive through flooded sections of road.
On the rail network, flooding at Kingussie mean trains are not running between Perth and Inverness and there are no trains between Aberdeen and Inverness. Replacement bus services have been put in place.
ScotRail said trains in the Highlands and the north east would not be fully operational until Wednesday at the earliest.
Dallas in Moray found itself under water 
Retreating water left debris across the railway line at Kingussie 
The River Dulnain in the Highlands was affected by heavy rain 
This tree was blown down in the Kildrummy area of Aberdeenshire 
High winds and heavy rain swept in overnight Emergency funds for flood damage
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