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Women rescued during floods in Tyrone and Londonderry Flooding: Emergency payments to be made after downpours cause 'mayhem'
(about 4 hours later)
Two women had to be rescued from floods after heavy rain fell across parts of Northern Ireland on Tuesday night. Emergency payments are to be made to flood victims following torrential rain across parts of Northern Ireland.
The worst affected areas were in Omagh, County Tyrone, and in Moneymore and Magherafelt, County Londonderry. The worst affected areas on Tuesday night were Omagh, County Tyrone, and Moneymore and Magherafelt, County Londonderry.
The Fire and Rescue Service said it received 33 calls from those areas in the six hours until midnight.The Fire and Rescue Service said it received 33 calls from those areas in the six hours until midnight.
In Magherafelt, a woman was rescued from her car and another from her home. However, no houses or buildings were badly flooded. One firefighter told the BBC there had been "mayhem" due to a deluge of rainwater in a short period of time.
The grounds of Letterkenny General Hospital in County Donegal were also flooded. Environment Minister Mark H Durkan said he had now activated the emergency payment scheme and individual households would be eligible for a £1,000 payment.
He said it was an "offer of practical assistance to those who have suffered severe inconvenience, to ensure homes are made habitable as quickly as possible. It is not a compensation payment".
Anyone who feels they may be entitled to the payment is being urged to contact their local council, which will arrange an urgent inspection of the property.
"If the council decides that your claim is eligible, you will receive your payment within a matter of days," said Mr Durkan.
"My department will reimburse councils for the £1,000 payments to individual householders, and for the direct and indirect costs of providing practical assistance and advice.
"I and my executive colleagues want to help those most severely affected to get back to normal as quickly as possible and to assist them in ensuring their homes are habitable. "
'Inexcusable failing'
In Magherafelt, a woman was rescued from her car during several hours of rain and a pensioner was taken to safety from her home.
A spokesman for the Fire and Rescue Service said that about 20 houses were flooded in the town.
"It was mayhem in Magherafelt," he said.
Mid Ulster MLA Patsy McGlone said people were "angry and deeply frustrated at the total lack of any emergency coordination following floods in Magherafelt".
He praised firefighters for rescuing the two women but said the high level of service provided by the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) was not matched by other statutory agencies in the town.
"Throughout the night Roads Service, Rivers Agency and NI Water failed to turn up despite NIFRS staff reporting circumstances as a priority situation," Mr McGlone said.
"Each of the absentee statutory service providers effectively abandoned people in the middle of a flood and left them to fend for themselves.
"That is an inexcusable failing," he added.
The SDLP MLA said he had spend the night with families "who were trying to locate sandbags to protect their homes only to be frustrated by the unavailability of agency staff".
The grounds of Letterkenny General Hospital in County Donegal were also flooded during the torrential rain.
It had only resumed full service in March after it was affected by serious flooding last July.It had only resumed full service in March after it was affected by serious flooding last July.