£1.1m is paid to NI flood victims

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/northern_ireland/6906762.stm

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Almost £1.1m has been paid to victims of Northern Ireland's summer flooding under a government emergency fund.

Affected households received £1,000 from the scheme set up in June after widespread flooding.

Of the 1,078 households receiving compensation to date, most are in the Belfast, Castlereagh and Omagh areas.

Households seriously affected by this week's flooding can also apply to the scheme, NI Environment Minister Arlene Foster has told BBC News.

HOUSEHOLD CLAIMS Ards - 16Armagh - 1Ballymena - 8Belfast - 564Castlereagh - 345Cookstown - 5Down - 12Dungannon & South Tyrone - 6Limavady - 2Lisburn - 1Magherafelt - 3Moyle - 16Newry & Mourne - 4North Down - 2Omagh - 93 Total 1,078

A Department of the Environment spokeswoman said the Northern Ireland Executive had made up to £5m available for the overall fund.

She said this was "to support the work of district councils to respond to the needs of householders across Northern Ireland".

"The department established a scheme to allow immediate payments of £1,000 to be made available to householders, where there was evidence of suffering or severe inconvenience," she said.

"Each case for assistance was assessed by environmental health officers from the relevant district council."

June 2007 has been recorded as the wettest in Northern Ireland since records began.