By Róise Collins
HOMES and businesses across East Donegal are recovering from the flash flooding that ravaged local towns at the weekend. Ten commercial premises and eight domestic properties were affected while some roads were ripped up during the worst of the flooding.
One of the homes hit was that of Michael Laird in Raphoe.
Michael Laird in his home in Raphoe with all his flooring removed in an effort to dry out the family home.
He was eating dinner with his wife and children on Saturday evening when they noticed the drains outside their home had stopped working.
They didn’t panic initially as they usually clear within an hour.
But this time was definitely different, Mr Laird said. Their back yard quickly became submerged in water.
They acquired two water pumps to try and alleviate the build-up. One seized first and then shortly after the second one gave in too.
A friend then turned up with a water tanker which eased the problem for a short period, until the fire service started pumping water away from the town and it came rushing straight for the Lairds’ home.
“We were trying to get it out the gate, and then it started coming down the glen and coming back in the gate. There was just no way to get on top of it,” Mr Laird added.
They then decided to start lining the gate with sandbags as a last defence, but at that stage it had already flooded into their home. They kept working to protect what they could, but three rooms were badly damaged.
“We were tramping through that stuff for hours. It was almost 2 o’clock on Sunday morning before we got to bed,” he said.
On Monday morning Mr Laird was left with no choice but to rip up the damaged flooring.
Despite the upheaval he remains optimistic. He laid the floors himself so repairs will only cost him the price of the raw materials. He empathised with other homeowners who might not be as fortunate.
Also still recovering from Saturday’s flooding are is Mehan’s, a family run clothing business on William Street, in the town centre. The flooding left their stock floating and ripped the flooring up from the shop front.
Locals give a helping hand on Saturday night in Raphoe at Mehan’s Shop to battle against the flood water.
The Mehans are currently working to repair the damage to their business.
The carpet floor is still soggy and there are two large dehumidifiers working overtime trying to remove the lingering moisture.
Sanjay Mehan described the situation last weekend as terrifying. He said they were lucky as people pitched in and helped them try and alleviate the rising water levels.
But unfortunately there was very little they could do as the water unforgivingly gushed through the front door and they simply couldn’t get rid of it at the same speed.
Across the road from Mehan’s is Victor Holmes and Sons. Norman Holmes, who runs the family business, said they luckily escaped the brunt of the flooding on Saturday evening.
Mr Holmes explained that this is because the furniture shop is just six inches higher than the garden centre.
When they renovated the shop his father had the foresight to keep the floor level that bit higher, as the threat of flooding has always plagued the town.
The flooding did however, breach the gates of their garden centre located at the side of the furniture shop, leaving plants and shrubs floating in about ten inches of water.
“There was a small bit of debris to clear up following the flooding but we count ourselves very fortunate,” Mr Holmes said.
Don and Anna Harte who live in the Diamond also escaped the flooding. Mrs Harte said this is because of the protection offered by the original step at the front door of their historic home.
Mr Harte said that the sound of water rushing down through the Main Street was terrifying. He recalled looking out the window and seeing the green area at the centre of the town white with water.
Not far from Raphoe is Kiltole in Convoy which was also affected by the heavy downpours, which lead to the bursting of the banks nearby last weekend.
Local man John Quinn shared his frustrations regarding the on-going problem of flooding near his home.
On Saturday he stayed at home because of the persistent rain. He was right to do so, as within a short space of time the road to his house had become impassable.
He spent the evening clearing blocked storm drains which kept the water from creeping up any higher and damaging nearby homes.
He is just one of the many local residents that are left holding their breath any time there is heavy showers, as they fear the tributary river flowing from the River Deele will yet again burst its banks.
“We are all fretting every time there is heavy rainfall,” he said.
Mr Quinn said the blocked gullies along the bridge and road are to blame for the flooding which he described as an on-going problem that the council are aware of.
“All we are asking them for is routine maintenance,” he added.
“They pay out insurance and they pay for damage against the cost of routine maintenance. It’s a no brainer.”
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