Co Down community saved houses from being flooded, councillor says

Community spirit in the Newcastle area “saved loads of houses from being flooded”, a Co Down councillor has said .

Willie Clarke described “a river running down the roads” after heavy rain on the Mourne Mountains on Sunday.

He said neighbours on Tullybrannigan Road and nearby streets were out from the early hours armed with shovels and sandbags, working to keep the floodwater away from people’s homes, and described their efforts as “really amazing”.

The Sinn Fein councillor said he was aware of two flooded homes.

The Tullybrannigan road was closed on Sunday, and the PSNI urged caution in the area.

Posting on Facebook they said: “Our partner agencies are working hard to look after the road and local residents so please do not make any unnecessary journeys to the area as this causes more water movement making it a harder job and more dangerous for those working!”

Much of Northern Ireland was under a yellow rain warning from midnight to 3pm on Sunday.

Mr Clarke said that when the water swept down from the mountains it brought with it debris which blocked drains, causing “more havoc”, but said the low tide helped the rainwater disperse.

A spokesperson for the Department for Infrastructure said the flooding was caused by “surface water run-off from the Mourne Mountains” after heavy overnight rain, adding that there were no reports of rivers causing flooding.

They said more than 900 sandbags were used and their teams cleared the roads of debris, which included large stones.

They said their staff had been “on standby all weekend following the Met Office weather warning issued”.