Elderly Woman Uses Chair Lift to Escape Flooding During Storm Bert

Annie Sweeney, a 94-year-old woman experiencing mobility challenges, recounted using her chair lift to ascend to an upper floor as the ground level of her residence became inundated with water during Storm Bert. Her home is situated in Kings Row, Coalisland, County Tyrone, an area where approximately 15 properties experienced flooding on Saturday morning. “It started off with the water coming through the front door and suddenly the whole place was swimming and we all had to rush upstairs,” she informed BBC News NI. Her family is among numerous households in Coalisland and Dundonald engaged in recovery efforts following the storm. Certain regions of Northern Ireland registered over half a month’s worth of rainfall during Storm Bert, which commenced its impact on the UK and Ireland on Saturday morning. The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service reported receiving 85 emergency calls related to flooding. Ms Sweeney stated, “I have the chair lift to get up the stairs, so I had to get up on it as soon as I could.” She added, “Look at the dirt of the floor. We just have to put up with it.” Ms Sweeney resides with her daughter, Carmel McDermott, who confirmed the loss of their vehicle, furnishings, and other domestic items due to flood damage. Ms McDermott described the scene, saying, “I was standing at the top of the stairs and it was like standing listening to a river coming through the house.” She noted, “It was a about nine inches high in the living room. “The hall floor, the wooden floor was completely lifted, it was just floating about.” She further mentioned that all their kitchen furnishings required disposal and that “anything close to the ground is destroyed.” Stormont’s communities minister has initiated an emergency payment program to assist flood victims, yet Ms McDermott expressed concern that they would still incur personal financial losses. She stated, “Council says we’ll get a grant of £1,000, but sure that wouldn’t even touch the amount we need for the damage.” Her mother has resided in Kings Row since her childhood, and Saturday marked the second instance within a decade that the family’s vehicle was lost due to flooding. Mid Ulster councillor Dan Kerr indicated that residents on the street are apprehensive that their “houses and livelihoods are on the line” whenever a storm is predicted. He informed the BBC’s Good Morning Ulster programme that he understood this was the fourth time the street had experienced flooding since 2015. “This can’t happen again when there is heavy rain predicted, it’s unacceptable in the 21st Century,” he asserted. He further noted that the recurring flood damage was imposing “physical, emotional and financial consequences” on the residents. In Park Avenue, Dundonald, where approximately 18 residences sustained damage, residents had previously voiced worries regarding flooding in their locality. The independent councillor mentioned that recent research had been conducted in the Kings Row area following concerns about flooding raised by him and other local representatives. He stated that they had been assured that efforts would “get to the bottom of the issue, but obviously not.” The residents “believe they’ve been let down several times by the statutory agencies.” In Dundonald, some inhabitants awoke to discover they were confined by ascending floodwaters and had to await their recession before being able to open their doors. Hannah McCann was at her residence in Park Avenue with her nine-month-old baby when the flooding commenced around 08:00 GMT on Saturday. “I actually heard rushing water and thought that maybe I’d left the bathroom tap running,” she recounted to the BBC’s Nolan Show. “So I went to check it out and then realised that there was water rushing in through our front door.” She added, “Everything was just covered in brown, murky, oily water.” Ms McCann reported that her son’s toybox had overturned, and his toys were seen floating throughout the house, where she has resided for the last six years. “Everything is destroyed. I’m actually at the house today to try to salvage what I can,” she stated. She commended the efforts of Crosspoint Church in Dundonald, which opened its facilities to residents displaced by the floods. “They were absolutely incredible,” she remarked, detailing that they offered shelter, hot beverages, blankets, and even fed her cat and dog while she attended to her affairs. On this street, efforts are ongoing to remove sewage and rainwater from the thoroughfare. However, a door-to-door observation reveals residents’ belongings discarded in their front gardens. Navigating through their homes requires caution to avoid slipping on waterlogged floors and damaged children’s play mats. Within some of the residences, a powerful odor is immediately noticeable. Christmas trees and decorations are encircled by muddy pools. The homes are cold, having lost their power supply. Individuals are wearing garments provided by friends and relatives. Despite an evident sense of community spirit, the full impact of the events is still being processed. Similar to Kings Row, this is not the initial occasion that Park Avenue has experienced flooding. Archival footage from BBC Northern Ireland indicates that properties on the street suffered severe flood damage twice within a single year during the 1970s. Concurrently, approximately 20 families have been impacted after a landslide struck their rural road during Storm Bert. This marks the second landslide on Glenshesk Road, situated outside Ballycastle, County Antrim, within the last year. An earlier landslide in March remains unrepaired, rendering the road impassable from one direction for several months already. Frankie McBride, a part-time farmer residing on the road, stated that if the second landslide deteriorates, residents will effectively be “landlocked” and unable to exit the area in either direction. He elaborated, “Farmers cant get to their stocks, people can’t get to work and most families have a job. We’re all working in trades and can’t work from home.” A representative for the Department of Infrastructure (DfI) confirmed that the department is “urgently assessing the extent of the damage” sustained on the Glenshesk Road over the weekend. Regarding the damage that occurred earlier this year, the department described it as a “complex issue that requires significant engineering consideration.” A design solution is presently under development and is anticipated to be finalized in early 2025, with subsequent construction works proceeding “subject to funding and favourable weather conditions,” the department further noted. Storm Bert also significantly impacted the Republic of Ireland, leading to approximately 60,000 customers experiencing power outages at one juncture on Saturday. Killybegs, a town in County Donegal, was identified as one of the regions most severely affected by flooding. Independent councillor Niamh Kennedy informed Good Morning Ulster that 22 properties had incurred damage. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC bears no responsibility for the content of external websites. Information regarding their approach to external linking is available.