A major clean-up continues across East Inishowen this morning following last night’s torrential rain and flash flooding.
In some towns, the night was reminiscent of the devasting floods that hit Inishowen in August 2017.
It was an “awful night”, says local councillor Martin Farren, who has praised the roads section of Donegal County Council and the emergency services for their swift response.
“It was quite scary and it was quite dangerous. It happened so quickly,” Cllr Farren said.
All roads in the area are now passable this morning following an extensive overnight clean-up. Muff-Moville road was closed last night after the parapet of the bridge north of the Redcastle Hotel collapsed. The bridge has since been secured and the road is reopened.
The deluge also swept away a large section of the Sli na Slainte shore walk in Moville. The walkway is now passable via the beach, but is not yet accessible for people with prams or wheelchair users.
Flash flood damage at the Moville Shore Walk
“This is the day for cleaning up, and when that is all done, we will be counting the costs of the damage done,” Cllr Farren said.
“Areas along the Foyle side appear to have taken the brunt of the storm.
“I can’t say enough about the emergency services, I want to thank everybody who was out helping last night and up early this morning too. Thank you to Donegal County Council Roads Service, the fire service, the coast guard and the gardaí. They are fantastic people. Thank you to all the people who rang me during the night to bring issues to my attention.”
Cllr Farren also praised the emergency team who cleared debris from outside a home where the family was blocked in.
Work will begin on Monday to determine the next steps for repairs, Cllr Farren said.
“I will be meeting the senior road engineers tomorrow who will be assessing the damage. It’s my job now to try and secure funding to have the repairs done as quickly as possible.”
The downpour affected many parts of Derry and Strabane too, where a warning was issued by the UK Met Office. There was no formal warning from Met Eireann, who forecasted a possible isolated thundery downpour in the north and north west.
Another rain warning has been issued in Northern Ireland for today from 12noon to 9pm. The UK Met Office is warning of more heavy and possibly thundery downpours that could cause further flooding
⚠️ Yellow rain warning issued ⚠️
Northern Ireland and Scotland
Valid 1200 to 2100 today
Latest info 👉 https://t.co/QwDLMfRBfs
Stay #WeatherAware⚠️ pic.twitter.com/qCB3AS6vEg
— Met Office (@metoffice) July 24, 2022
