Stormont department responds to 500 incidents after Storm Bert causes homes to flood and major disruption

The Department for Infrastructure (DfI) said it responded to more than 500 incidents on Saturday as Storm Bert’s sustained winds and heavy rain caused homes to flood and resulted in major disruption across the north.

A yellow weather warning for wind was in place from 5am until 7pm on Saturday as winds of up to 70mph in places were accompanied by rain early in the morning.

The DfI said it responded to more than 500 reported incidents since the yellow warning had come into place.

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The department reported flooding to homes in counties Down, Fermanagh and Tyrone as well as a Royal Mail site in Mallusk.

The fire service said that between 8.30am and 1.30pm on Saturday, it had received 85 calls relating to flooding.

In response to the flooding, the DfC activated the emergency flooding payment scheme.

“Following recent incidents of flooding, individual householders who have suffered severe inconvenience can claim £1,000 payment from their local council, as an offer of practical assistance,” a spokesperson said.

“The payment is meant to ensure that homes are made habitable as quickly as possible.”

Elsewhere, some 6,500 homes were without power on Saturday at the storm’s peak, while flooding on the roads and railway caused serious disruption.

Firefighters intervened to help ten people from vehicles caught in flood water and one person was rescued from a river in Antrim.

Flooding and fallen trees resulting in a number of road closures, including the Broadway Roundabout in Belfast, with flooding impacting traffic to and from the Royal Victoria Hospital early on Saturday morning before the road was fully reopened in the afternoon.

Railway services were also severely disrupted, as Translink announced that flooding had caused damage to some infrastructure and bus substitutions were put in place for sections of the Derry-Belfast line.

The remnants of snow and ice continued to affect driving conditions on higher ground early on Saturday and at one point a gritter was stuck on the Coleraine Mountain Road.

There were also concerns after a landslide emerged on the Glenshesk Road between Ballycastle and Armoy.

It was reported that a roadside verge was washed away during the storm on Saturday, exposing a cliff edge along the tarmac.

The road was previously partially closed for around eight months due to a landslide.

In the Republic, more than 60,000 homes were left without power and major flooding impacted Bridge Street in Killybegs, Co Donegal, with flooding also reported in Galway.