Criticism over flood response

Clearing up at a flooded business in Newry

There has been criticism that not enough was done to help householders and motorists caught up in flash flooding in Northern Ireland.

Drivers faced more problems on Friday when the Met Office issued a warning of heavy rain affecting the whole of the province.

Some roads were already flooded after Thursday night's downpours in counties Down, Armagh and Tyrone.

In Newry, a month's rainfall fell in one night and many people were left trapped in their cars and homes.

Workers from the Department of Regional Development helped to bring people to safety and to put down sandbags.

However, the city's mayor, Jack Patterson, said flooding was a regular problem there.

We received numerous calls from people who were stuck in cars in floodwater Brian Greer Fire Brigade

"The Department of Regional Development have learnt absolutely nothing from the last flooding situation we had in the spring," he said.

"This is a regular occasion, these are flash floods, okay, but we are having them in the spring, the winter and now mid summer."

Roads Service manager for the Southern Region Kevin Monaghan said Thursday night's rainfall was exceptional.

"Most of the locations that we visited last night, the drainage that Roads Service would be responsible for was operating fairly well but what had happened was that the sheer volume of water basically overwhelmed the system in a very short time," he said.

The Water Service's customer service director, William Duddy, defended his department's response to the flooding.

"Flooding is a horrible experience but to put this into context our records show that we had 17 properties flooded last night," he said

"During the course of the evening, water service alone, working alongside road service and the rivers agency, we alone had 40 staff on the ground."

Water had also to be pumped from some shops and other businesses.

There were also reports of raw sewage being being washed out of drains by the flood waters.

'Freak cloudburst'

Firefighters were called to Daisy Hill Hospital in Newry after fears of possible flooding on the site.

Firefighter Brian Greer said the brigade had a busy night.

"We received numerous calls from people who were stuck in cars in flood water, this was mainly in the Newry and Rathfriland area," he said.

"In addition to that we had people calling from residential property in Newry and Rathfriland and also in Newtownhamilton and later on, we also received calls from the Omagh area."

Many homes and businesses were sandbagged

Local residents described the rain as a "freak cloudburst".

They said the drains did not seem to be able to cope with the downpour.

Karen Carroll who lives at Iveagh Crescent in Newry claims residents there got no help for several hours.

"Children were in hysterics on the front street because they could not get back into their houses," she said.

"After about three to four hours, residents went and got their own sandbags.

"The majority of people ended up with towels, quilts, anything they could get their hands on to block their doors to stop the water getting in."

Castlewellan was also badly affected, and in Bessbrook near Newry, a wall collapsed at the National Trust's Derrymore House.