Clean-up after heavy rainfall and flash flooding

Flooding on the main Enniskillen to Dublin Road in Enniskillen on Sunday evening. Part of the road is submerged in flood water. One blue hatchback car is parked on the left of the photo. The water level is up to its rear bumper and more than half way up its rear wheel arch. A large white truck used to clear drains is in the foreground and cars are turning away from the area in the background.Simon Burns

Part of the main Enniskillen to Dublin Road was flooded on Sunday

Barra Best & Ross McKee
BBC News NI

A clean-up operation is under way after heavy rainfall hit areas of Northern Ireland and led to flash flooding in parts of County Fermanagh.

A woman and her partner who were caught in a flood while on a day trip to the Marble Arch Caves, described the scene as being like a Hollywood film.

One business told BBC News NI he estimates the weather has caused thousands of pounds of damage to his rock climbing centre.

Some weather stations recorded their wettest July day on record on Sunday following an amber weather warning for heavy rain.

Alistair Hay and Kim Mahon Hay standing in front of a sign for Marble Arch Caves. Alistair is wearing a flat cap, silver necklace and white shirt. Kim has long brown hair wearing sunglasses on top of her head, and a cream blazer. Both are soaked.Alistair Hay

Alistair Hay and Kim Mahon Hay were on a day trip to the Marble Arch Caves in County Fermanagh on Sunday

Kim Mahon Hay and her husband Alistair Hay believed the Marble Arch Caves would be the perfect place to shelter in the heavy rain, but soon learnt how serious it was as the entrance became impassable and the stairs out had "become waterfalls".

"We had seen that it was going to be showery but we thought we'd dart in and out between things and we thought the caves would be perfect because if it does rain you're in the caves out of the rain," Ms Mahon Hay told BBC Radio Ulster's Nolan Show.

"We definitely weren't expecting the rain to come down as heavy as it did."

Parts of Enniskillen flooded after heavy rain

She said they began their tour at 16:15 BST and half way through their tour guide's radio started to receive messages about the "torrential rain up above".

"Within minutes they started messaging to say the entrance in had become impassable and they were starting to send staff into the caves because the stairways then had become waterfalls," Ms Mahon Hay said.

She added that the staff at the Marble Arch Caves were "absolutely amazing in dealing with the situation".

A man with a short black and grey beard wears a grey flat cap with glasses rested upon it. Behind him is a white building with a glass door with a red frame. There is also a window with a red frame. A blue sign sits between the two glass panels.

George Remedios claims the flood damage could cost the Ennis Rock Climbing Centre upwards of £20,000

George Remedios from Ennis Rock Climbing Centre told BBC News NI that rain water was "coming down so quick" from the nearby hill area.

"Within 20 minutes of calling emergency services the water had breached the threshold (of the centre).

"If we can't get some sort of opening as soon as possible with minimal cost to us to get it up and running then I can certainly see that we would struggle to open it."

He estimates the damage could cost the centre upwards of £20,000, "and that's just the start, but I'm trying to stay positive and we are going to get through".

"Climbers normally like a challenge but this is a challenge I could probably do without."

A person dressed in blue holds a hose on a forecourt at Sligo Road in Enniskillen, while another person in white top and blue trousers sweeps up.

There was a clean-up operation at Sligo Road in Enniskillen on Monday morning

The heavy rain caused major traffic disruption in parts of Northern Ireland on Monday.

The M12 carriageway in Craigavon, County Armagh, was closed due to flooding and there were long delays in the M1 direction on Monday morning, it has since re-opened.

On Sunday evening, some roads around Enniskillen were impassable and police urged motorists not to drive through flood water.

The Met Office's amber rain warning - the second highest level of alert - ended at 08:00 BST on Monday but a yellow warning for counties Antrim, Down and Armagh continued until about 14:00 on Monday.

On Monday evening, the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) said that Cladagh Glen Nature Reserve, in County Fermanagh, is closed due to "path damage and landslides" caused by the flooding.

A wide view of the flooded Dublin Road in Enniskillen. A large white truck with a Greentown Drainage Services sign is parked in the middle of the road. Two men in yellow high-viz suits and wellies are standing ankle-deep in the water. In the distance, a man leans into a blue hatchback car which is submerged up to its bumper in the floodwater.Simon Burns

A drainage company worked to clear the flood water from the Dublin Road in Enniskillen

Michelle Hannigan. She has dark hair tied back, wearing small hoop earrings and a black shirt.

Michelle Hannigan said Ninth Avenue on the Sligo Road had to close

Michelle Hannigan, from Ninth Avenue restaurant in Enniskillen, said it had to close after water got into the premises and affected one of the fridges.

"We came back this morning to clear up and check everything and were able to reopen," she said.

Red road closed sign beside traffic cones on the M12, a blue road sign showing the destinations of Craigavon and Portadown can be seen on the far right. A white van is in the distance.

The M12 carriageway at Craigavon was closed for a number of hours

Close to a month's worth of rain has been recorded in parts of County Down in less than 12 hours.

Killowen, in the south of the county, saw 69mm of rain between 22:00 BST on Sunday and 10:00 BST on Monday.

The average amount of rain the weather station normally sees for the whole month of July is 80.7mm.

Killowen has also had its wettest July day on record and its third wettest day of any month, with records going back to 1997.

Murlough, County Down, also had its wettest July day on record with 61.2mm of rain.

Records there go back to 1968.

A silver car beside brown water on the road in the underpass at Blacks Road in Belfast.

Water had gathered in the underpass at Blacks Road in Belfast on Monday morning

Orange alert for Republic of Ireland

A similar weather warning was issued in the Republic of Ireland for counties Dublin, Louth and Meath.

The Met Éireann (Irish meteorological service) status orange alert warned of persistent and heavy rain with a chance of thunderstorms.

It recorded 60mm of rain in Dundalk, County Louth, which is well above the July average for eastern counties.

The alert lasted until 14:00 local time on Monday.

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