Weather: flooding causes disruption across Northern Ireland

Flooding was wreaking havoc across Northern Ireland today (Tuesday) after a night of heavy rain.

A Met Office amber rain warning was in place overnight covering counties Antrim, Down and Armagh.

A yellow rain warning covering large parts was in place for today while an alert for the whole of Northern Ireland comes into effect tonight at 9 and iis expected to last until 9am on Wednesday.

Newry in Co Down was one of the areas worst hit by the flooding after the city's canal burst its banks.

The main flooding was in the areas of Sugar Island, Kildare Street, Canal Quay and part of Bridge Street.

Newry resident Dessie Heatley described the scenes as a "repeat of what happened here around 35 years ago".

"We were up and down here in boats," he said.

"It's pretty bad, I'm sure all the shopkeepers are raging, we'd no warning or nothing."

                                                                                                                                                                                                            Paul McCartan, who owns McCartan Bros, a clothing shop on Sugar Island, along with his brother, said it was a disaster for businesses in the area.

He described the shop as being a mess under three feet of water, with clothes saturated.

"We came in about 11pm last night and weren't expecting it to be anything like this, and it's an absolute mess," he said.

"I came up this morning hoping the waters would be lower, and if anything they were far higher. I needed to get in, I have stock in there, it's my livelihood and unfortunately the inside of the shop is an absolute mess.

"We had to break into the shop to get in because if you opened the front door you'd let more water in, so we broke windows and got in to get the stock that was dry, and get it upstairs. Other stock is saturated.

"Unfortunately, I spent a lot of money three weeks ago getting new flooring in the business, and it's all a waste.

"We got a lot of stuff upstairs and I'm really appreciative of the three guys who came in with me, and that shows the type of characters they are, that they were willing to come in and give me a hand."

Mr McCartan said it will have a significant financial impact for him and the family business, adding insurance companies won't cover for flooding in Newry.

"It's a family business, we've been going from 1959. I know my father and uncle went through something like this but not maybe as extreme. You'd think nowadays we'd have better defences, but obviously not," he said.

"Unfortunately, we're just going to have to see where we go from here, it's a bit of a nightmare coming into Christmas... I don't know when I'll be able to reopen again."Elsewhere, roads have been closed due to flooding, while train passengers on the main Belfast to Dublin route faced significant disruption on Tuesday morning due to flooded tracks between Portadown and Newry.

South of the border, a yellow rain warning issued by Met Eireann covering Louth and Monaghan expired in the early hours of Tuesday.

Garda warned of flooding on the N1 motorway in Co Louth on Tuesday morning and also on the R173 in the nearby Carlingford area.

A 24-hour yellow rain warning for County Kerry in the south west of the island comes into effect at 12pm on Tuesday.

Stormont's Department for Infrastructure had warned of inevitable localised flooding in Northern Ireland.

"It may be necessary to close roads or put temporary restrictions in place," the department said.

The PSNI Ireland had urged people against travelling during the period of the amber warning overnight and this morning.

Across the UK, the Environment Agency has issued more than 25 flood warnings ahead of the arrival of Storm Ciaran on Wednesday, while the Met Office has issued yellow weather warnings for rain from Monday until Thursday.

Gusts of 80mph are possible along the south coast of England, with 20 to 25mm of rain expected across southern and western areas, but potentially up to 40 to 60mm over higher ground, the Met Office said.

The forecaster advises the latest rain could lead to disruption on roads and to public transport while already flood-affected areas after Storm Babet could get worse.

Marco Petagna, a Met Office meteorologist, said: "We've had various warnings in force across the UK over the last few days, and there are plenty more being issued for the next couple of days.

"The main focus in the next day or two is towards the east of Scotland and north-east England, where there is a yellow rain warning until 3am.

"There will be persistent rain up there, and then the focus for heavy showers will be across parts of southern and southeastern England and south Wales as well as parts of Northern Ireland with some heavy and sudden showers."

He said Tuesday was expected to be still unsettled but quieter before heavy winds and longer spells of rain develop on Wednesday night into Thursday as Storm Ciaran arrives.

"There are possible gusts of 80 to 90 miles an hour in some exposed southern areas. It's probably quite a nasty storm this one."

Kate Marks, flood duty manager at the Environment Agency, said: "We urge people to stay safe on the coast and to remember to take extreme care on coastal paths and promenades.

"Flooding of low-lying coastal roads is also possible and people must avoid driving through floodwater, as just 30cm of flowing water is enough to move your car."

Met Office deputy chief meteorologist Chris Almond said: "Winds associated with Storm Ciaran are likely to gust to 80mph along the south coast of England, with a small risk of somewhere exposed seeing 90mph, and winds could even gust up to 50 or 60mph further inland.

"This deep, low-pressure system will also bring heavy rain to much of the UK, but the heaviest rain is expected in southern and western areas, with 20 to 25mm quite widely across the region but up to 40 to 60mm potentially over higher ground.

"Heavy and persistent rain will fall onto the already saturated ground, bringing a risk of further impacts such as flooding in areas that are already struggling to clean up from the heavy rainfall we have seen over the last week or so."