Bridge collapses and homes flooded as two weather warnings issued ahead of Storm Ciarán

Police in Northern Ireland have warned that the level of the River Bann in Banbridge, Co Down has risen “dangerously high” and that parents and guardians should ensure any children in the park leave it immediately.

The warning follows severe flooding in Newry city centre and a bridge in north Co Louth partially collapsing due to flooding, as a number of rain and wind warnings have been issued by Met Éireann and the UK Met Office for the coming days.

In Newry, police have advised people to avoid the town centre due to “unprecedented levels of flooding” after the canal broke its banks overnight. Sections of the city are underwater, with flooding in the areas of Sugar Island, Kildare Street, Canal Quay and part of Bridge Street.

The main N1 Belfast to Dublin has been closed in northbound near Newry at Junction 20 (Carrickdale Hotel) due to flooding, TrafficWatchNI said on Tuesday around midday. The southbound carriageway is passable only with extreme care, it said.

A number of roads are closed in counties Down, Armagh and Antrim due to flooding caused by heavy overnight rain falling on already saturated ground.

Northern Ireland’s Department for Infrastructure said a large number of calls had been received to the Flooding Incident Line from across the region and assistance was being provided.

People are also asked to stay away from all watercourses, canals and bridges especially in the Newry area, while assessment of the damage caused by the rain continues, it said.

“Northern Ireland’s Department for Infrastructure (DfI) continues to engage with the PSNI and other multi agency partners to respond to the emerging situation and to deploy resources effectively following the various weather warnings over the last few days.

“Where necessary, temporary road or lane closures have been put in place on roads blocked by flooding and resources assigned to clear blocked pipes and gullies across affected areas.”

Translink reported on Tuesday afternoon that the main railway line between Portadown and Dundalk has been flooded, with a substitute bus service operating between Dublin and Belfast calling at both locations as well as Newry.

Newry resident Dessie Heatley described the flooding in Newry as “a repeat of what happened here around 35 years ago, we were up and down here in boats.”

The northeast of the island was hit the hardest overnight as a UK Met Office amber rain warning was issued for Antrim, Down and Armagh until 9am on Tuesday before Storm Ciarán is forecast to bring strong winds and heavy rain towards the end of the week.

In Louth, a bridge, which is near Riverstown, was damaged due to heavy rainfall with local community groups warning on social media of severe flooding in the area with many roads impassable.

Co Louth publican Frankie McGrory has praised local community spirit after his bar flooded with up to eight inches of water. Speaking on RTÉ Radio’s News at One, Mr McGrory, owner of Lumpers Bar near Ravendale, said water was coming down the road “like a river from the mountain” and nearby houses were also completely flooded.

“It was all silt and muck, dirt, debris and sewage”, he said. “It’s very dirty, mucky, it’s sludge.

It’s all over the place, the water just takes everything with it.”

“We went on Facebook and within an hour we had about 15 pumps available to us. We couldn’t believe the community spirit – friends, neighbours, all the lads who work at the bar and our base camp, the coffee dock, they were all calling.”

Mr McGrory said his premises had never been flooded before.

Sharon McGuigan, owner of the Carlingford Arms Bar and Restaurant told RTÉ that the water “had nowhere to go”. Within 15 or 20 minutes of high tide the water just came in.

“It was sewage, it was muck, it’s gravel. It just came in one door and at the other door.” Ms McGuigan said the fridges in the kitchen were “all destroyed”, and all electrical equipment was knocked off so cookers, food, everything was damaged.

She feared that the situation could be exacerbated tonight as heavy rain is forecast.

“We’re going to have the same situation tonight. I think the council just can’t cope with running out of sandbags. There was nothing we could do. The water just couldn’t go anywhere. Ms McGuigan said she had been running the Carlingford Arms for over 30 years, about 27 years ago there had been “something similar”, but not as heavy as last night.

“The Government will have to help us. Somebody will have to help us. We can’t go on the way it is.”

Eamonn Connolly, manager of Newry Business Improvement District Organisation told RTÉ it had been a long night.

“It’s certainly been unprecedented. Part of Newry looks like a lake. It literally is inaccessible unless by boat and the canal and the river are at maximum capacity. Now, we have a full tide at the minute, which has us nervous, but thankfully, it’s not really present. There’s extensive damage, extensive damage throughout Newry. And this is just an unheralded. Mr Connolly said he did not have an exact headcount of the number of premises impacted.

“You’re talking dozens and dozens and you also have dozens and dozens more at risk in light of Storm Ciarán, coming in tomorrow. Much of the businesses are inaccessible with water being up above window height. And what we have seen is some of the businesses have CCTV and can monitor it from home and can see the water levels within their own businesses and their stock floating around the premises.

“We knew that the river and canal were high, knew the flow was fast. But certainly we have never seen anything like this. And it’s just everybody is in a state of shock.

“There’s substantial damage to stock, fixtures and fittings, building itself, even the public realm. And we have walls down, we have river banks, but it’s just biblical and certain elements of it.”

Many of the businesses were excluded from having flood insurance as they were on a flood plain, he said. “We’ve never had anything of this extent in the past, so I’m just not sure what faces us. But we’re looking at real substantive losses for businesses and long term remediation before they can get back and open again.

“We have we have reached out to local politicians, but there’s no real clarity, but we would certainly hope so. I think there’s a recognition that it’s certainly a disaster recovery situation.”

Some houses in the Haven estate at Rosslare Strand in Wexford were badly affected on Monday and several residents were taken from their properties in an inflatable dinghy, where up to a metre of water was reported.

Met Éireann has warned of the likely potential of flooding this week, with further rain falling on already saturated lands and high-flowing rivers.

Met Éireann forecaster Gerry Murphy has warned that the storm, which is due to hit Ireland midweek will “further exacerbate flooding problems” in some parts of Munster and Leinster.

A band of rain across the country today will have a yellow warning in Co Kerry. The heavy rain that is falling on Ulster at present will gradually clear during the day with a mixture of sunshine and showers for tomorrow, he told RTÉ Radio’s Morning Ireland.

“But then we have Storm Ciarán, which is going to push to the south along the south coast of Ireland on Wednesday night and into Thursday. And the main impact that that will have over Ireland is that it’s going to push rain up mainly over Munster and Leinster. So the possibility then of some further heavy falls on Wednesday night into Thursday in part of Munster and Leinster. And this too will further exacerbate flooding problems in these areas.”

Mr Murphy said the rain levels in some areas were already very high, like a bucket that was overflowing with more water being poured into it.

On Wednesday and Thursday, Storm Ciarán is set to bring more heavy rain and strong winds, with Munster and Leinster set to be among areas worst affected. It will remain unsettled for the rest of the week.

Met Éireann has issued a 24-hour yellow rain warning for Co Kerry from noon on Tuesday while a similar warning is in place from 9pm in Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Tyrone and Derry until 9am on Wednesday.

A yellow wind warning is in place Clare, Kerry and Galway from 5am until 11am on Wednesday. A yellow rain warning has also been issued for Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford, Wicklow, Cork and Waterford from 7pm on Wednesday until 7am on Thursday.

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In Rosslare on Monday, local Coastguard volunteer Alan Duggan was involved in efforts to help people get to dry land in the Haven estate in Rosslare, which is mostly made up of holiday homes.

“I walked in chest waders and the water was up to my waist outside of someone’s front door,” he said.

“There are about 35 to 40 houses in the Haven and around 15 of them are flooded.”

Mr Duggan said he used to live in the estate and he had never witnessed flooding on that scale before.

Local councillor Jim Codd visited the scene on Monday.

“We have people who are petrified now every time there is a fall of rain and the impact this is having on our roads is also horrendous as it’s tearing up the roads over and over again,” said the Aontú representative.

“Those that currently have insurance for homes will not get it again and many of the people in the areas I represent cannot now get insurance, even in cases when they themselves might not have been flooded, but they live close to the floods. This is turning people’s lives upside down.”

“With the coming storm and predictions for more rainfall, people are very frightened, people are very nervous and bear in mind the district I represent saw 4,500 acres under water two years ago and it took a long time for it to drain away,” he said.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland said: “Please stay at home where possible and do not make unnecessary journeys. If you must travel, please bear the prevailing conditions in mind.”

Elsewhere, forecasters have said Storm Ciarán poses a potential threat to life in southern England later this week, bringing gusts of wind likely to hit 80mph. – Additional reporting: Agencies