Downpatrick has pleaded for more support - Water gone, but not devastation

Ciara Douglas, 52, who owns Making Memories For You – a shop dedicated to children’s occasional wear specialising in communion, said she has “lost everything” and the businesses in the town centre have been “destroyed” in the flooding caused by heavy rainfall.

The operation to pump water from the area was successfully completed on Saturday, according to Stormont officials, but business owners have been left with devastated properties and stock as they wait for assessors and insurance companies to survey the damage.

Ms Douglas, who has always lived in Downpatrick, said the water had been contaminated after barrels used for heating oil started to float during the flooding and “emptied into the water”.

“The water was very badly contaminated with oil and flooded in all the shops,” Ms Douglas told the PA news agency. “The road is so dangerous and the paths are really dangerous because, the water’s gone, but the oil has now settled onto the footpaths and roads which is a slipping hazard.

“You can’t let cars down, you can’t let people walk on the footpaths and they’re now trying to clean that.

“What’s happened on the street is inside everybody’s shop. The whole town is submerged in heating oil.”

Ms Douglas started her business, located just off the Market Street area, on October 11 last year to help people celebrate special occasions. She estimates she has lost around £7,000 worth of stock and around £30,000 of equipment due to the flooding.

“We were only one year in our business, we were only building the business and building the name,” she said.

Ms Douglas said she managed to retrieve around 40 dresses for customers, but said “the water started to rise too high and we had to get out”.

“We’ve lost everything, we’ve lost our floor, we’ve lost the curtains, there were hats and gloves that were still left, all our padded hangers are gone.”

Becoming emotional, she added: “I’ve had so many messages from the girls who I would have dressed for their communion saying ‘we love you, we’re so sorry, we hope your shop opens again’.”

She said her insurance was not helping to cover for any of the damages, citing act of God reasons.

“I would say 99.9% of the shops in the town have insurance and the insurance won’t cover the flood,” she said. “The shops are destroyed, myself included.

“Everyone is trying to grasp their hands on something to try and keep their business afloat, but it’s hard.”