Derg community efforts avert severe flood damage following heaviest rainfall in 53-years

A TOTAL of 21 Castlederg homes have so far been visited by the council's environmental health officials, with two impacted by water damage, following shock flash flooding at the weekend.

The torrential rainfall, which caught the local area by surprise, saw a large-scale relief effort, with emergency services joined by members of the community including farmers, who pumped water away with tractors and tankers, and local people who helped distribute sandbags.

Nearby towns of Castlefinn and Raphoe were also hit by widespread flooding, with roads blocked and premises flooded.

In Castlederg, it is estimated that 72.6mm of rain fell between 9am on Saturday, July 22, to 9am the following morning. This was the wettest 24-hour period for the town in 53 years.

Many have agreed that the duration of the downpour of rain that occurred at the weekend is something that they had never before experienced.

And the results were devastating for those in the locale. Heavy rain, which started at around 9.30pm on Saturday evening, soon developed into flash flooding, which seeped into houses, submerged fields and threatened a full evacuation of a local nursing home.

However, thanks to the swift actions of emergency services and the local community, sandbags were deployed and was water pumped away, ensuring that an evacuation effort at the nursing home wasn't needed.

In the aftermath of the flooding, environmental health officers from Derry City and Strabane District Council said they visited a total of 21 homes, and have confirmed that at this stage two inhabited buildings have been affected by flood water damage.

An Emergency Funding scheme has since been activated to assist those badly impacted by the recent flooding.

However, while the after-effects of the flooding will be felt by a number of local people for some time to come, Castlederg DUP councillor, Keith Kerrigan, said that things could have been "much, much worse".

"I have to give credit to the emergency service and the PSNI, who were out in force doing what they could," councillor Kerrigan said. "They also helped to mobilise farmers to come, who came in their droves with tractors and tankers, with some working until four in the morning to pump water away.

"I was told that a total 17 different vehicles were deployed by the Fire and Rescue Service to Castlederg. This response was second to none. There great of show community spirit and people were willing to help in whatever way they could, such as by gathering sandbags.

"Overall, the situation could have been much, much worse, especially when we consider that Silverdale Care Home came within 10 minutes of being evacuated. This would have been a full evacuation of every resident close to midnight, so thankfully it didn't come to that."

In the aftermath of the flooding, Derg Ulster Unionist Party councillor, Derek Hussey, said he will be seeking an Interagency Evaluation Meeting with fellow Derg Councillors to help reduce the impact of future such events.

"The intensity and duration of the downpour of rain that occurred at the weekend is something that I have never before experienced," he said. "Reflecting on the deluge that hit the Derg Valley area on Saturday evening, it would be remiss not to first recognise the initial local community and emergency service response in assistance with sandbags to assist in preventing flood water entering many homes and businesses throughout our area.

"Similarly, the local farming community were active bringing tractors and tankers to clear and pump water away."

Councillor Hussey added: "I have requested permission to bring the matter to a full council meeting today (Wednesday) and to ask that an Interagency Evaluation Meeting including all Derg councillors be sought to seek a way forward to reduce the impact of future such events, if not prevent, as there identified issues to be addressed including sandbag replenishment and Floodline response times."

Sinn Fein councillor, Ruairí McHugh, said that the "massive community effort" helped avert worse flooding.

“However, there is no doubt that even worse flooding was averted due to a massive combined effort," the councillor said. "Credit is due to all the emergency services including the Fire Service, Foyle Search & Rescue and Strabane Community Rescue for the speed of their response to last night’s emergency.

"The strong sense of community that we have here was evidenced in how everyone mobilised to get sandbags to homes and businesses at risk. Last but not least, a big thank you must go out to those in the farming community who were out with tractors and pumps which was crucial in preventing further properties from being flooded."

Councillor McGuire added: “I was on the ground and liasing with the council chief executive and the various agencies I have received confirmation that the Scheme of Financial Emergency assistance compensation scheme (SEFA) has been activated.

“Through ‘Floodline,’ council has also received the addresses of properties impacted and are currently making arrangements for Environmental Health officers to be available to inspect properties affected on Monday."