Flash flooding leaves NI farmers facing ruin

Farmers in Northern Ireland are warning flash flooding and heavy rain could leave them facing financial ruin.

Crops were destroyed and farming equipment damaged after 3in of rain fell in 36 hours on Tuesday (7 September), causing the Colebrooke River in County Fermanagh to burst its banks.

Farmer Barry Read said the flood had left his grain store underwater, causing about £30,000 of damage to the 200t of grain and 100 straw bales being stored there.

He told the BBC that debris at the mouth of the river had blocked the flow of water.

The Rivers Agency needed to do more to maintain it so it could cope with extreme weather, he added.

“For a businessman like myself, it may just be the final nail in the coffin,” he told the Belfast Telegraph.

“I have spent the past 12 months growing crops and had only got them gathered in last Wednesday, then to have them destroyed in one fell swoop.

“A £30,000 loss from the grain alone will probably be detrimental and fatal for my business.

“I would employ three to four people and their jobs will probably go because financially I cannot spend 12 months growing crops to get them to the point of sale and have them devastated because of floods.

“This could be the final nail in the coffin.”

A Department of Agriculture and Rural Development spokesman said: “The Colebrooke River was inspected during the heavy rainfall when water levels were rising and was found to be running freely and discharging into Upper Lough Erne.

“The Fermanagh area was subject to prolonged and heavy rainfall with approximately 70mm being recorded at St Angelo between 4 and 7 September.

“This has resulted in a one-in-10-year flood in the Colebrooke River.”