Flooding Chaos Blamed On Lack Of Communication

Poor communication between government agencies may be partly to blame for the havoc wreaked by flooding in Northern Ireland last month.

Torrential rain on June 27 flooded homes and businesses across Belfast.

And an interim review by Belfast City Council has identified several shortcomings in the emergency response.

As well as poor communication, it has raised concerns about the Flooding Incident Line, the distribution of sandbags and the fact that there was no weather warning before the heavy rain.

An emergency co-ordination centre opened almost immediately after flooding started in the evening of June 27.

But the council’s review has found that it did not share information quickly enough about parts of the city affected by flooding.

And the Flooding Incident Line, operated by the Department of Finance and Personnel, did not operate well "as it was not staffed up quickly enough", the report states.

The response to the flooding is due to be discussed by the council's health and environmental services committee on Wednesday.

To date, the council has made emergency payments to 643 households affected by flood water.

(NE)