Northern Ireland: Homes flooded and travel hit by Storm Bert

A number of homes were flooded in counties Down and Tyrone on Saturday following hours of heavy rain and wind caused by Storm Bert.

Some residents in Dundonald were stuck in their houses due to the flood water on Saturday while up to 10 homes may have been flooded in Coalisland.

An emergency payment scheme was later 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.

Travel was also heavily disrupted, with roads and train lines affected by flood water, fallen trees and other debris.

At the height of the storm, up to 6,500 people were left without power in Northern Ireland, but by 22:00 GMT fewer than 200 people still had no electricity.

The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) said between 08:00 and 13:30 on Saturday, it received 85 calls in relation to flooding.

Ten people were assisted from vehicles in flood water, with another rescued from a river in Antrim.

Three fire appliances were deployed to Park Avenue in Dundonald, but some residents were stuck as water flooded the downstairs of their properties.

Resident Sarah Kirkwood left her home after she woke up at about 07:00 GMT on Saturday and saw the water rising in the street.

She then rang the Department for Infrastructure’s (DfI) flood incident helpline to ask for sandbags.

“I made them aware of the situation in the street, the water was coming up the manholes,” she told BBC News NI.

Ms Kirkwood explained that the area was prone to flooding, but the water had never entered her home before.

“It comes about halfway up the street every year and they’ve been doing works… so we thought it was all in hand,” she added.

After leaving to get sandbags, Ms Kirkwood arrived back to find her property had flooded, which left her frustrated.

Despite the turn of events, Ms Kirkwood said she is “fortunate” to have family she can stay with while the damage in her home is dealt with.

It is understood that emergency accommodation has been provided for those unable to return to their homes.

Meanwhile, homes at Kings Row, Coalisland, have also been hit.

Mid Ulster councillor Dan Kerr told BBC News NI he had been contacted by three or four residents whose homes had been flooded.

He said firefighters and staff from the Rivers Agency went to the scene and sandbags had been secured from a nearby Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) club.

NIFRS Group Commander Danny Ard said the number of flooded properties could be as high as 10 but firefighters could not confirm a final figure until the water has receded.

Mr Ard added that a mail distribution centre in Mallusk, Newtownabbey had also been flooded.

Three pumping appliances and one high-volume pump were used to take the water away.

At the scene: Residents were trapped

by Linzi Lima, BBC News NI reporter in Dundonald

The fire service pumped water at Park Avenue, where a number of residents could not get out of their houses.

Kelly Kitchen’s son and his partner were among those residents. Kelly said her son told her he woke this morning after 09:00 to find his house had been flooded.

He was not able to leave. A video of his home showed a fridge floating in the kitchen and a couple of feet of dirty water on the ground floor.

Some residents went to a nearby church hall to stay warm and dry during the operation.

The railway line between Belfast and Antrim was closed for a time but has since re-opened and the line between Belfast and Dublin has also reopened, public transport operator Translink said.

The strongest winds in Northern Ireland – at 67mph – were recorded in Ballypatrick, County Antrim, while Derrylin in County Fermanagh recorded a quarter of its average November rainfall in 12 hours overnight.

Earlier, the TrafficWatchNI service reported “very difficult driving conditions” in some higher areas including the Glenshane Pass, Windyhill Road in Limavady and Glenpark Road, Omagh.

A gritter vehicle got stranded in snow on the Coleraine Mountain Road, which also was closed for a period.

In addition:

• A number of roads were closed due to rock falls, landslides and fallen tress – the Greenhill Road, on the A4 near Brookeborough, County Fermanagh, is closed due to subsidence at a bridge. The latest on road closures can be found on the TrafficWatchNI website.
• The Broadway roundabout in Belfast was briefly closed due to flooding near the Royal Victoria Hospital.
• P&O Ferries cancelled Saturday’s 04:00 GMT ferry between Larne and Cairnryan but said passengers would be accommodated on the 08:00 sailing.
• Ballymena United’s football match against Larne was called off because of a waterlogged pitch at Ballymena Showgrounds.

Translink has list of all its disrupted bus and rail services on its website.

Met Éireann (the Irish Meteorological Service) issued red warnings for heavy rain in west Cork and west Galway but these have now been lifted.

In the Republic of Ireland, ESB Networks said about 6,000 customers remained without power, following the storm, at 22:30 local time.

Images posted online appeared to show that the River Feale in west Limerick had burst its banks.

In County Donegal there was major flooding on Bridge Street in Killybegs where a clean-up has been taking place.

It was one of the worst hit counties for power cuts while the highest wind gust recorded on the island of Ireland was 71mph (114kph) at Malin Head in the county.

A status yellow wind warning for Carlow, Cork, Kerry, Kilkenny, Waterford, Wexford and Wicklow is in place until 02:00 local time on Sunday.

More strong winds coming

by BBC News NI weather presenter Cecelia Daly

Storm Bert has not finished with us yet. A fresh batch of strong winds will develop on Sunday and the Met Office has issued a yellow warning for strong winds, valid from 11:00 to 18:00 GMT on Sunday.

There was a significant reduction in the wind on Saturday afternoon, but they will freshen again overnight.

The earlier heavy rain combined with snow melt has led to flooding in many areas as rivers burst their banks. Flooding will continue to be a hazard as snow melt feeds down into the river network.

According to the Met Office: “Strong south-westerly winds are expected to develop during Sunday morning across Northern Ireland.

“Gusts of 45-55 mph are expected widely with gusts of up 65 mph possible over hills and exposed locations around the coast.”

The top wind gusts will be similar to those of Saturday and therefore could cause some further damage and disruption.