Families throughout Derry count cost of flash floods

by Gareth Cross and Alan Healy

Boats had to be used to rescue some people from their homes during Tuesday night’s floods in Derry.

Families throughout the local area have been left devastated following widespread flooding on Tuesday night.

The Ivy Mead, Church Brae and Drumahoe areas were among the worst affected by the flooding.

Other areas badly affected were Rossnagalliagh, Coshquin, Eglinton and Hawthorn Drive.

Katherine Cooke lives in Ivy Mead and said that while she was relatively lucky, her neighbours’ homes had been completely devastated.

"Their houses are completely ruined," she said.

"Water got into their homes and their possessions are destroyed.

"A number of people's cars have also been ruined by the water.

"Some of our neighbours were actually out in a boat trying to help people."

Mrs Cooke said a number of people in the area had been left extremely upset.

"People are standing bent in two and crying at the devastation they have experienced," she said.

"Our whole street was under water but we were lucky due to the quick thinking of my husband and neighbours.

"We filled pillow cases with the mud from the garden and managed to build a dam at the front and back doors to keep the water out.

"The water was a foot deep and we didn't get sandbags until 3:30am."

She paid tribute to the work of the River Agency.

"Their staff worked all night to help people, fair play to them," Mrs Cooke said.

"It was just crazy, I've never seen anything like it. We were able to protect our car too but others weren't so lucky.

"Some of our neighbours cars ended up completely submerged in water and they are waiting on recovery vehicles to take them away."

Mrs Cooke said that action was needed to return the area to normal.

"We need a good cleanup, the streets are disgusting," she said.

"The sun is out today but if kids go out they could pick up something, the sewers were overflowing.

"One of my neighbours actually broke his ankle falling into a manhole when he was helping someone else."

She also said that something needed to be done to prevent similar flooding in future.

"There is a small river that runs through Ivy Mead that leads to the River Faughan and we need someone to look at supporting the banks to stop this happening again."

Mrs Cooke said it would take time for the area and its residents to return to normal.

"People are just devastated, when you look at the area around the Park and Ride at Drumahoe, it's crazy.

"It's like a different world out there today, people don't know where to turn. They are phoning insurance companies.

"A young couple moved into the area three weeks ago and everything they have is ruined.

"People put time and money into their homes and take pride in them, it will take people a long time to come around from this.

"My neighbours are just standing in the street scratching their heads and trying to make sense of it.”

Meanwhile, a number of houses on the cityside were badly damaged as a result of the flooding caused by the sustained deluge.

Both the Lecky Road and Foyle Road were submerged under several feet of water, with residents of the Lecky Road forced to place sandbags at the front of the homes as the flood waters showed no sign of abating as the night wore on.

Yesterday morning revealed that most of the homes were largely unaffected, but water did seep into a licensed premises on the Lecky Road.

However, one property which is currently undergoing external maintenance was badly damaged as result of not floodwater, but rain.

Speaking to the Derry News, Rose Deery said that rainwater came through the roof of her home as a result of it being left uncovered, soaking her bedroom and leaving her with no electricity.

“The place has been left wrecked,” she said.

“The rain was building up on the roof and then it started seeping in through the ceiling, and the place is soaked.”

Thomas Brogan, who also lives on the Lecky Road said that he was ‘lucky’ given that the water only reached his doorstep before it began to ease.

Meanwhile, one of the worst affected areas on the cityside was the Hawthorne Drive area in Springtown, where residents worked throughout the night trying to prevent floodwater streaming into their homes, which lie at the bottom of a sloped street, but to no avail.

The Derry News visited the street yesterday morning, where householders, some of whom had already lifted the floors in their homes, were assessing the extent of the damage which could now run to thousands of pounds.

Speaking to the Derry News, Sean Scully, who lives in a specially adapted bungalow with his wife, who is disabled, and his two sons, said that the combined effect of floodwater seeping down the street into the front of the house, and drains overflowing at the rear of the property proved too much to stem.

“It all happened in the space of 15 minutes, from saying ‘Look at that rain’ until it was coming through the front door and flooding into the house,” he told the Derry News.

“We also had the problem of the backyardflooding in the backyard which pushed the water up from the drains and through our electric box, which killed the power.

“We were bailing the water out over the sandbags but it just kept coming, and we couldn’t stop it.”

He added: “All the flooring will have to come up now, which is special flooring we have, non-slip, so we’re just going to have to see what happens now.”

Meanwhile, his next door neighbour, Tracey Ward, said that a manhole burst in her backyard due to water pressure caused by torrential downpour.

“My kitchen, living room, hall, all the floors are lifted and my carpet’s up,” she said.

“The drains just couldn’t cope with the water coming down the street and it started flowing in over the sandbags.”