Storm Bert: Residents begin clean up after flooding

Residents are counting the costs after their homes were flooded following hours of heavy rain caused by Storm Bert.

About 18 properties as well as a number of cars in Park Avenue, Dundonald were damaged by the flooding on Saturday.

Residents have been able to return to their homes to survey the damage, but some have said they are frustrated at the response of NI Water and the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) having raised flooding concerns in the area.

NI Water and DfI have been contacted for comment.

Melissa McComb woke up on Saturday morning to see that the bottom of her street had begun to flood.

Mrs McComb and a neighbour contacted the DfI’s flooding incident helpline at about 07:30 GMT. She was told an official would be sent out to the area.

“By nine, no one had come and it was just getting worse and worse,” she told BBC News NI.

“There is a manhole just outside my house and the water started to come up the manhole, and at that stage we thought this isn’t going to be ok.”

After moving her car to a nearby church car park, Mrs McComb left the area to purchase sandbags to protect her property.

“By the time we came back, the water was at a height that you couldn’t get in or out of the house,” she added.

While she had vacated before flooding begun, Mrs McComb’s husband was stuck inside the property until 14:00.

Mrs McComb said that although someone from the DfI arrived to the scene, she felt it was too late.

“As far as we’re aware they did not come until after nine,” she added.

Residents of Park Avenue have raised concerns about flooding in the area for about a year, but Mrs McComb said she has been left with no confidence in the issue being resolved.

“I was angry and kind of fed up, [it] feels like you’ve been raising these issues and nothing has been done about it,” she explained.

“I know there was a letter issued to local councillors to say work had been carried out and I saw it yesterday and it was dated a year ago.”

She added, one year later, issues remain.

Lisburn and Castlereagh councillor Samantha Burns said it is the first time the area has experienced floodwater breaching properties.

“We thought it had been solved,” she said.

“There had been manhole issues and blocked pipes but obviously [there are] still issues.”

Ms Burns said she is hopeful that any outstanding issues will soon be resolved.

“Hopefully [we can] get the residents sorted out and get them back into their homes,” she added.

Mehdi Mozadeh moved into his Park Avenue house with his wife and two young children three months ago.

The flooding has damaged his property, furniture and even his children’s school uniforms.

“I don’t know what I should do… [I have] no idea where I’m going to stay,” he said.

On Saturday, an emergency payment scheme was activated by Communities Minister Gordon Lyons.

It means householders who have suffered “severe inconvenience” from flooding can claim a £1,000 payment through their local council.

But Mr Mozadeh said that he has not received any help or support since Saturday’s flooding.

“This is my life and [this is] so hard for me.”

Damage was also reported in County Tyrone, with up to 10 homes having been flooded in Coalisland on Saturday.

A yellow warning for high winds was issued for Northern Ireland until 18:00 on Sunday.

It followed strong winds and heavy rain on Saturday as Storm Bert made landfall.

There were delays to rail services, with flooding causing some services between Belfast and Dublin to be cancelled.

The strongest winds in Northern Ireland on Saturday – 67mph – were recorded in Ballypatrick, County Antrim.

Parts of Northern Ireland recorded more than half a month’s rainfall over the weekend.

Derrylin in County Fermanagh had 65.2mm of rain between 18:00 GMT on Friday and 06:00 on Sunday.

That is 53% of normal rainfall for Northern Ireland for the whole month of November.

The average is 122.5mm.

Altnahinch Filters in County Antrim and Murlough in County Down both recorded 58mm of rain – 47% of normal rainfall.

In the Republic of Ireland, Met Éireann (the Irish Meteorological Service) also issued a status yellow wind alert for a number of counties which came into effect at 08:00 local time on Sunday morning.

In counties Clare, Kerry and Galway was in place until 19:00.

In Leitrim, Mayo and Sligo, the alert will last until 02:00 on Monday, with County Donegal’s in effect until 08:00.

The service has warned of difficult travelling conditions, as well as fallen trees and debris.

On Saturday, the service issued red alerts – the highest level – for heavy rain in west Cork and west Galway.

In County Donegal, there was major flooding on Bridge Street in Killybegs where 16 houses and nine businesses were affected.

Irish broadcaster RTÉ has reported that at one point the water rose to about 1.2m (3ft 9in).

Local business owner Gráinne Cafferty said people are “hurt and so annoyed” as there have been previous problems with flooding in the area.

She said questions are now being asked and an “awful lot of money” will be needed to repair homes and businesses.

Irish Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke said that he is seeking “urgent” approval from the government to reopen an emergency flooding scheme to help businesses impacted by Storm Bert.