Belfast flooding: Heavy rain affects travel and business

A salon in Berry Street in Belfast flooded as a result of downpours

Businesses have been affected by flooding in parts of Belfast, following heavy rain and thunderstorms.

A Met Office weather warning for thunderstorms and heavy rain is in place until midnight on Friday.

A further warning for thunderstorms has also been issued for Saturday from 04:00 until midnight.

Difficult driving conditions are to be expected, along with flooding, and damage due to lightning strikes, hail, or strong winds.

Floods on Berry Street in Belfast saw shoppers wade through water as they returned to their cars

Floods in Berry Street, at the back of CastleCourt Shopping Centre, saw people wading through ankle-deep water as they returned to their cars.

A hair salon in the same area also ended up flooded as a result of the downpours.

Jim McGarvey, who owns a bicycle shop on King Street in Belfast, said the flooding was scary.

"It seemed to come up out of a manhole cover just up the street," Mr McGarvey told the BBC's Evening Extra programme.

"The River Farset runs under this street and it just came up, it came up the height of a car.

"I managed to get the door closed but the place is saturated, it's filled with dirt and silt and sewage."

Driving conditions are poor in many parts of the city due to surface water and flooding.

• Northern Ireland weather forecast

'Worst flooding in years'

About 50 homes were affected by flooding in the Brompton Park and Etna Drive areas of Ardoyne, according to SDLP councillor Paul McCusker.

"The water was knee-deep and had entered a lot of the properties," Mr McCusker also told to Evening Extra.

"It's left a lot of sewage in and around the garden and residents are now arranging clean-ups.

"This area has flooded in previous years, but this is the worst we've seen in many years."

Mr McCusker said sandbags provided by the Department for Infrastructure and Belfast City Council helped prevent further damage to homes.

Ann McAloon, who owns Absolute Beauty Salon said she has had to cancel her clients booked for tomorrow

Beauty salon owner Ann McAloon said she had not witnessed scenes flooding like this in 25 years of business in Belfast city centre.

"Within 15 minutes the salon was flooded, we had no way of keeping the water out," said Ms McAloon.

"The traffic was still going up and down so it was making a tidal wave and it was coming in, we could hardly even get the door closed.

"We had clients in at the time, Friday is always our busiest day so we had to cancel all the clients for tomorrow as well, because the place is filthy."

"For Belfast city centre it is a disgrace, it was half an hour's rain and within 15 minutes everything was just flooded."

• Thunderstorm and flood warning for Northern Ireland

Earlier on Friday police urged motorists in Drumbo, County Antrim, to avoid the Ballylesson Road at the junction of Pine Hill Road due to it being "impassable" as a result of heavy flooding.

On Thursday night, Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) was dispatched to an incident of flooding across two main roads in Belleek, County Fermanagh.

A man had become trapped in his car due to the floods but managed to free himself before firefighters arrived.

While working to clear floodwater from the scene, fire crews were alerted to a 65-year-old man having a heart attack nearby.

Two firefighters attended the incident, providing oxygen and using a defibrillator until an ambulance arrived, NIFRS said in a tweet.