Motorists take extra care as flooding affects roads

STORM Debi created strong winds and heavy rain which caused serious flooding in areas of West Tyrone at the start of the week. On Monday, a spokesperson for Fermanagh and Omagh District Council (FODC) said that, due to the yellow warning, they were advising the public to avoid areas with trees and on high ground.

Floodwater partially blocked the B158 at the Leap Bridge between Beragh and Omagh.

Meanwhile, part of the main A5 road at Curr was also swamped with water coming from a nearby river. The water subsequently receded late morning as the storm eased.

The PSNI said that it had received numerous reports of substantial flooding on the Curr Road at the junction with the Moylagh Road, Omagh. There were also multiple reports of flooding on other parts of the A5 and on the Gortin Road just outside the town.

It follows serious flooding in other parts of the North during recent weeks, including Portadown, Newry and Downpatrick.

REVIEW

At a meeting of the local council, Omagh town representative Barry McElduff called for a review of flood defences in key areas of the town, which has been seriously flooded intermittently over recent years.

The council is to write to the Rivers Agency at the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) to find out what plans it has to maintain and improve local flood defences.

Mr McElduff said it was important to know how prepared people and businesses in the council area are for potential flooding.

“We know in the recent past the locations where flooding has been prevalent. Omagh as a town has experienced a lot of flooding in the past, as have Fintona, Carrickmore and Beragh,” he said.

“We need answers before the threat of flooding comes our way, and the key is how prepared we are,” he said.

West Tyrone councillor, Stephen McCann, said many places were ‘caught on the hop’ and that those who were responding were unable to quell the floodwater.

“This should stand to warn us all and to look at our own situations. This is starting to get more common,” he added.

Errol Thompson said Omagh had been hit very severely in the past, especially in the sixties, seventies and eighties.

“Where will be in the priority for flood defences. I would be concerned that there will be a big focus on Newry, Downpatrick and Portadown. We need to see the maintenance of the defences that we have in place,” he said.

“Flooding is a very detrimental and devastating thing to happen and I want to keep the concerns of our area to the fore.”

Council chief executive, Alison McCullagh, said that, while the flood defences in Campsie had been successful, Omagh town centre was a very high risk area.