Northern Ireland flooding: 'Tireless' Department of Infrastructure workers deal with 99 incidents during downpour
Cleaning up continues after almost a month's rain fell in 24 hours in parts of Northern Ireland, with Department of Infrastructure staff dealing with 99 flooding incidents during the downpour.
A Met Office amber warning for severe rain had been issued for the southeast of Northern Ireland from 11pm on Sunday through to 8am on Monday.
A further yellow warning continued for counties Antrim, Down and Armagh until 6pm on Monday.
The Met Office said that from 9am Sunday to 9am Monday Killowen had 69mm of rain with and Trassey Slievenaman 69mm, both in Co Down. NI normally sees 89mm of rain for the entire month of July.
The intensity of the rain captured people's imagination after video footage showed some of the 70 visitors to an underground tourist attraction in Enniskillen being evacuated on Sunday evening.
Torrential rain caused water to pour down stairways into the Marble Arch Caves, however all staff and visitors were safely evacuated.
A spokeswoman for Fermanagh & Omagh District Council said that the caves are now closed for safety checks.
“Clean up, safety and condition inspections of the cave system and above landscape are ongoing,” she told the News Letter.
“Initial inspections show some accumulation of banks of debris within the cave system and some damage to fixtures and fittings. A detailed inspection of structural formations within the cave system is to be undertaken by a geologist later this week.”
Ennis Rock indoor climbing wall business in Enniskillen has had to close while it recovers. It said: “So due the recent downpour ... our climbing centre was flooded, which sadly now means we have to close the wall temporarily in order to assess the damage and see what we need to do to get our and your beloved Enniskillen Climbing Wall back up and running.”
Michelle Hannigan, from Ninth Avenue restaurant in Enniskillen, said it had to close after water got into the premises and affected one of the fridges.
“We came back this morning to clear up and check everything and were able to reopen,” she told the BBC.
The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs said Cladagh Glen Nature Reserve, also in Co Fermanagh, is also closed while assessments are made to path damage and landslides.
The Department for Infrastructure said roads and rivers teams worked “tirelessly” to deal with 99 incidents.
“As well as participating in multi-agency conference calls, staff were checking and clearing road gullies and other drainage infrastructure assets including river inlet screens as well as monitoring river and lough levels,” it said.
Eight properties were recorded as flooded.
Flooding on the M12 road at Portadown was cleared by pumping but the slip road to the Carn roundabout remains closed for investigations into the cause of flooding.
Flooding in Enniskillen occurred on Belmore Street, Forthill Street, Derrycharra Link road and Wellington Road, which cleared through the road drainage system.
An excavator removed part of a verge at rhe Derrylin and Sligo Roads to allow water to escape.
There was also flooding from high ground onto Marble Arch Road, closing the road for three hours.