Ulster`s flood defences struggle

Plastic flood sheet defences and sandbags have been given to householders in the worst affected areas, such as the Belmont, Sydenham and lower Ravenhill Road areas of East Belfast. Newtonards and Bangor in Co Down have also been hit by floods.

Authorities in Northern Ireland have been criticised for providing inadequate flood defences over recent years, as flooding has become increasingly common in the region over the summer months. A new motorway underpass was submerged under 20 feet of water following heavy rainfall last August.

Belfast Lord Mayor and Alliance MLA Naomi Long believes that more should be done with the city`s infrastructure to offer protection from flooding.

Long said: “Over the course of the last two to three years I have been in repeated contact with the Department for Regional Development, the Department for Agriculture and Rural Development and the Department of the Environment in relation to extensive flooding throughout East Belfast in the wake of heavy rainfall.”