Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
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MORE than 100 people were rescued after downpours battered Northern Ireland with two weeks of rain falling in just one hour.
The deluge turned roads into rivers as emergency services worked flat out to save drivers.
Cars were washed away, bridges collapsed, homes were flooded and even hit by lightning. One distraught resident in Derry said: “Everything is destroyed.”
THIS is the shocking aftermath of flash flooding which caused havoc overnight.
Firefighters rescued 93 people and received more than 400 calls as weather chaos left some homeless and one family’s property was struck by lightning.
Counties Donegal, Derry and Tyrone were worst hit with collapsed bridges, uprooted trees, roads giving way and cars washed away in overflowing rivers during a night when at one point the fire service got an emergency call every 45 seconds.
Main roads leading into Derry were closed as was the airport with widespread destruction in the villages of Eglinton, Drumahoe and Claudy where hundreds of people were evacuated from their homes as River Faughan burst its banks.
During the height of the emergency an elderly couple were rescued by neighbours who could only get at the property in a boat.
Pensioners Robert and Edith Donnell were brought to safety by brothers Mark and Stewart Smith and their nephew Daryll in Riverside Park, Drumahoe.
Mark said: “They were shouting for help from their upstairs window.
“The water in their house was chest deep and they were trapped and they couldn’t get out because Robert wouldn’t leave his wife who finds it hard to walk.
“Together we managed to lift them into the boat and we got them out. They were both petrified.
“We got them to high ground where other neighbours then looked after them and we then went back to help other residents.”
Mark’s wife Carol-ann said when he returned home they then had to rescue their 20-monthold son Jacob from his cot.
She added: “Mark was out in the boat rescuing others and I was out in the street with the other neighbours.
“When I went back into the house the water had flooded our living room where Jacob was asleep in his cot.
“The water was several feet in depth. It just happened in minutes.”
And Institute Football Club in the city has been left “devastated” after overnight flooding ripped through their Riverside stadium.
Extensive damage was caused to the pitch, changing rooms and clubhouse – and even a burger van ended up in one of the goalmouths – leaving the Championship club homeless at the start of the new season. Institute recently built a new grandstand and carried out extensive refurbishment work over the summer.
Chairman Bill Anderson said: “I am standing here looking at the damage and I am in total disbelief. The river burst its banks and it has gone right through the club. The damage is extensive. “A lot of effort went into improving the club, and then this happens. It is soul destroying.”
And a family in Katesbridge, Co Down, had a lucky escape after lightning hit their home.
Mum Brenda Higgins said: “I was in bed about five or 10 minutes and heard this massive bang. From the room, I could see the orange glow of a fire from the other bedroom – thankfully the rain put it out.
“My son was very lucky as he had been in the bedroom about half an hour beforehand. He had gone downstairs to watch TV when the lightning struck.
“I got the younger children out of the house when I realised part of the roof was off.”
Torrential downpours saw 63% of the average August rainfall plummet down within eight to nine hours.
In total more than 100 people had to be rescued from vehicles caught in flash floods and were rescued by firefighters and the Coastguard.
Police, ambulance crews and search and rescue teams were also involved in the response. Temporary accommodation centres were opened to house those whose homes were flooded.
Assistant Chief Fire & Rescue Officer Alan Walmsley said: “Our Regional Control Centre received 402 emergency 999 calls between 7pm and 4am. At its peak time between 9pm and 11pm, RCC handled an emergency call every 45 seconds.
“Firefighters worked in extremely challenging circumstances to reach people. A number of roads were impassable due to flooding and crews had to take alternative routes to attend some incidents.
“We worked closely with colleagues from the Irish Coastguard Agency,
They were shouting for help from upstairs... we got them out in boat MARK SMITH CO DERRY YESTERDAY