Praise for locals who acted quickly to prevent flood threat to Buncrana homes

The quick action of locals prevented the potential flooding to homes on the outskirts of Buncrana following heavy rain brought by Storm Debi, a local councillor has said.

Calls have been made for action to be taken to deal with the flood threat after heavy rain caused a road and a field to flood.

Water from a stream which runs under Magherinture Road spilled onto the road at around 7am on Monday morning.

Local councillor Nicholas Crossan said properties on the road and on Lisowen Court were saved from serious problems due to locals who helped divert water from the road by digging a track.

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Donegal County Council staff later placed sandbags on the road, he said, after debris and broken branches caused a blockage at a bridge over the stream. The area was affected during the serious flooding of 2017 and Cllr Crossan has called for action to alleviate the threat of flooding which is causing anxiety to people in the area.

He said those who helped on Monday morning cleared a track which had originally been dug by machinery during the flooding of 2017. 

“There were people down to help and there was a digger which dug a track, the last time,” he said. “That track must have acted to help [alleviate the problem]. I have asked the council before [to look at it]. But the problem is the stream is running through private land so I don't know what the procedure is but I will be finding out at the next MD (municipal district) meeting. We need to find out how we can get the water away. It’s low-lying ground and it is prone to flooding. We have to get something done.”

Cllr Jack Murray echoed the calls for action over the problem in the area. “We are told the river is full of trees and this shows that we need to clear the river. If the council and the OPW worked together the rivers would be cleared of debris and branches. Much of this would be avoided if the rivers were cleared of branches and trees.” 

A field in the area, between Ferris Land and Causeway Road, was left flooded on Monday morning.

Cllr Rena Donaghey said the field has not flooded in recent times and it raised concerns that streams in the area need to be cleared of debris.  

“It never once stopped raining over 48 hours and if the tide is high, it is a problem, as the water can’t get away," she said. "Local people say in all of their lifetimes they have never seen that field flooded.”

Storm Debi brought flooding and disruption across the country but Donegal escaped the worst. An outage in the Muff area left around 20 customers without power for most of Monday.