By Alan Healy and Marianne Flood

A number of families whose homes were destroyed in the recent flooding which struck Derry now face an uncertain future because they had not taken out insurance.

Hundreds of homes were badly damaged as a result of the flooding which struck the northwest region on Tuesday night, where two-thirds of the average rainfall in August fell during a nine-hour period.

The flooding also resulted in widespread traffic disruption due to both debris and flooding.

To date, 465 requests have been registered with an Emergency Payment Scheme offering up to £1,000 to those affected by the floods.

However, many families whose homes were destroyed now face having to pay out many thousands more to repair their homes.

One of the worst affected areas was Dunverne Gardens in the Eglinton area, where almost all of the homes in the street were submerged under several feet of stagnant water and mud.

The street lies beside a small burn which overflowed due to the downpour, with the resultant flooding bringing down walls and wrecking over a dozen homes.

Such was the force of the water that a car was carried down the street on the current, and only came to a stop after crashing into a wall.

The Derry News visited the street on Friday morning, where assessors were on the ground surveying the extent of the damage, as families struggled to cope with not only the clean-up itself, but the prospect of spending the next number of months attempting to get their homes back to normal.

One family in the street have yet to see the damage wrought on their home as they are currently on holiday.

The Derry News also spoke to Steven Moore, whose family’s home backs on to the burn and was one of those worst hit on Tuesday night.

Mr Moore, whose family has lived in the street for 20 years, said that they have no insurance on their home, due to the premiums being too high due to the fact that the property is located on a flood plain.

“We paid insurance for a long time, but then the policy changed, and the premiums were too high because we’re on flood plain, so it was a no go after that,” he said.

“The whole bottom floor of the house is devastated, the backyard, the oil tanker - all of it destroyed.

“The two cars were also written off, but they were insured.”

Mr Moore added: “It’s going to cost a lot of money to get the place sorted, but there are things gone that money can’t replace, and they’re gone forever.”

Thick mud still many of the coated the ground floors of many homes, but some were also counting the cost of significant damage to the exterior of their properties.

Stephen Johnston, who has lived in the street for 27 years, watched as a car was washed down the

Street before crashing into a the corner of a wall outside his home.

Furthermore, a wall at the side of his home also collapsed onto a parked car due to the force of the water.

Speaking to the Derry News on Friday morning, Mr Johnston said that assessors had told him it may be ‘three to six months’ before his home is fully repaired.

“It was just unbelievable,” he said, “the water lifted a car down the whole way down the street, then hit the corner of the wall.”

“The power of the water shifted a shed out the back of the house and lifted across the yard.”

He added: “The insurers have told us to take everything out of the house, and I suppose we are one of the lucky ones in that we have insurance.”

Mr Johnston also praised local politicians and the council for the support they had received.

The home of 88-year-old Martha Long, known as Matty, who has lived in the street since it was built around 1955, was also seriously damaged by the flooding.

Up until Tuesday night, Mrs Long had lived at her home for over 60 years, but will now be in living in temporary accommodation until her home is suitable for habitation.

The Derry News spoke to her daughter, Charlotte Kidd, on Friday morning, who said that her mother has been left ‘devastated’, given that the home was her ‘pride and joy’.

“She took great care of her home, both inside and outside, she was always renovating,” Charlotte said.

“The water was up the knee high at the bottom floor. In fairness the insurance people have been excellent, they’ve made my mother a priority because she’s vulnerable and my brother, who has learning difficulties, also lives with her.

“He has Down’s Syndrome, and he and my mother both look after each other, mum has a lot of good people around her and we’re keen to get them re-established back in here as soon as possible because they have a good thing here because this is her independence.”

She added: “Hopefully that will happen before the end of November, she has a lovely wee place to stay in until then and that’s thanks to the lovely people she knows.”

Meanwhile, the DUP councillor for the area Graham Warke paid tribute to the residents of the street for the support they had shown each other over what he said has been an ‘extremely difficult’ number of days.

“There’s a lot of stuff that the families have lost that can never be replaced, and that’s heart breaking to see,” Alderman Warke said.

“But the community spirit here in Eglinton has been incredible, from Debbie and those in the community centre, to the wider community, they have all come together to help each other.”

Meanwhile, a Derry estate agent has spoken of how he saved the life of a family pet after flood water surged into his home.

Footage of estate agent Paul O’Keefe’s flood ravaged Drumahoe home has been viewed over 250,000 times since his son Jordan posted it online on Wednesday.

Mr O’Keefe said the home will need to be gutted, rewired and plumbed before it is habitable again.

The family’s three cars, including a 7 Series BMW and an Aston Martin were also destroyed in the flood.

He first realised there was something wrong when his wife woke him at 1.25am on Wednesday morning to say she thought someone had broken into the house.

“I went to look and the force of the water had taken the front door off its hinges,” he explained.

Mr O’Keefe was looking after his son’s white Pomeranian dog, who was trapped downstairs in the utility room.

“I opened the kitchen door to try and get to him, but with the volume of water I couldn’t do anything,” he said.

“I went around to the back and saw the dog through the window, but had to swim back to the house to get something to smash the window with.

“My wife gave me a metal candle stick and I was beating the window with it and eventually it cracked.

“I got the window open and then our blue bin appeared out of nowhere and I was able to stand on it and jump in.

Mr O’Keefe grabbed the dog by the neck and wrapped him in curtain before putting him in a laundry basket and swimming to safety.

The couple were stranded in the upstairs of their house over night as the water continued to flood in downstairs.

“If it had been a bungalow we’d have been dead,” he continued.

“At one stage I was telling my wife to go up to the attic with the dog. It felt like a tsunami. The water was bouncing off the ceiling.

“It looks like somebody threw a hand grenade into the house.”

The clean -up continued in Churchbrae on Friday where Yvonne Taylor was trying to clear out her bungalow, which had been completely destroyed by the flood.

The water entered her home at 11.30pm on Tuesday night and destroyed almost all her family’s belongings including family photographs, jewellery, computers, mobile phones, clothes and furniture.

The family’s three cars were also destroyed.

“I don’t think it has hit me yet,” she said, “everything I own is going into that lorry.”

“My wedding dress. Everything. It’s all gone.”

Mrs Taylor’s son Jamie, 24 and Dale, 23 and some friends used a rowing boat to rescue a neighbour from his home.

“They were out in the boat rescuing cats and dogs that were stranded,” she explained.

“Our two King Charles Spaniels were outside when it happened and we thought they were lost but we found them out at the back fence with just their heads poking above the water.

Meanwhile her 15-year-old daughter Jenny who was visiting friends in Eglinton got caught in the floods there.

“I was up to my chest in water,” she said.

“Most of the stuff I’d got for going back to school is gone.”

Mrs Taylor and her family are staying at the White House Hotel until they find alternative accommodation.

“The staff there have been so understanding they can’t do enough for us and lots of friends and family are offering to help which is really nice.”

Ruth Snodgrass’s home on the Glenshane Road was completely ruined when a field behind it subsided and the water began pouring in through her kitchen.

The downstairs of her home was completely ruined and she and her husband have to find rental accommodation for the next six months until their house is repaired.

“It’s like Beirut. You’d have to see it to believe it,” she said.

“My son went to open the back gate during the flood and the force of the water knocked him over and he’s a big name.

“I’m still in shock really. I can’t believe it has happened.”

Both Mrs Taylor and Mrs Snodgrass had home insurance, but not all those affected were covered.

“Thankfully nationwide have been brilliant,” said Mrs Snodgrass.

“I couldn’t fault them. I’m glad not that I stayed with them for 35 years.”

If you have a story or want to send a photo or video to us please contact the Derry Now editorial team on 028 7129 6600 for Derry City stories Or 028 7774 3970 for County Derry stories. Or you can email gareth@derrynews.net at any time.