Northern Ireland is beginning to recover from chaotic weather over the weekend.
Storm Bert arrived on Saturday causing power cuts, travel disruption and flooding, and a strong winds continued to batter Northern Ireland today.
The Department for Infrastructure said it responded to more than 500 incidents since weather alerts were issued on Friday night.
Winds of up to 67mph were recorded in Ballypatrick, Co Antrim on Saturday.
Roads across counties Tyrone, Down and Antrim were blocked by trees and flood waters on Saturday, and properties were flooded in Dundonald, Kilcoo, Coalisland and Ballinamallard as well a Royal Mail property in Mallusk.
The weather is expected to calm down as we head into the new week but many across the country will be dealing with the aftermath of the devastation wreaked by Storm Bert for many weeks to come.
This was the scene on the Hillhall Road in Lisburn which had been closed to traffic. Photo – Andrew McCarroll/ Pacemaker Press
Homes near Moat Park in Dundonald, Co Down were affected by flooding. Some residents at Park Avenue were trapped in their homes by the floodwater, with around 18 properties damaged.
Several homes in Coalisland, Co Tyrone, have also been damaged. A local community centre has been opened for those affected.
Their homes are now unoccupied with many residents currently waiting for emergency accommodation.
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Paul Gray is a Pastor of the Crosspoint Church in Dundonald. He opened the churches doors for residents affected by the flooding.
“I got a phone call first thing in the morning telling me that there was flooding and I should go check on the church,” he said.
“I went out and the church was fine but you could see the street at Moat Park was flooded.
“So I said I would keep the church open for anyone that needed it.”
Mr Gray said many residents were trapped inside their homes while the NI Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) attempted to find the source of the flooding and pump water away from the homes.
“Initially we only had one family come to us because a lot of them were stuck in their homes,” he said.
“That must have been very hard for them because the power had been out from the earlier morning and they had to stay upstairs.”
Paul Gray of Crosspoint Church
As the NIFRS cleared the flooding more families were able to come into the church or see the damage the floods caused to their homes.
“It’s awful. I’ve seen videos from people and the water was up to their ankles or knee and everything they have is lost or water damaged,” Mr Gray said.
“It clearly done a lot of damage to the homes.”
He said the flooding has upset many residents.
“It is a very distressing and stressful time for people because everything they have is ruined.
“Some of them didn’t have house insurance and everything is gone.
“One of the families has a five or six month old little baby and they were very distressed by everything.”
Another family displaced by the flooding was an immigrant family who had only been living in Northern Ireland for a short time.
“We have an Iranian family and they have only been here three or four months and they lost absolutely everything. They didn’t even have shoes,” Mr Gray said.
“Their landlord came and sat with them, him and his partner sat with them for a long time and brought them some things they needed.”
He said the local community in Dundonald had come together to support those affected by the flooding.
“That is what the community is like here — we always come together. I had people volunteering here, people messaging me asking if we needed anything.
“People were bringing down blankets, and cash donations and food. The local chip shop rang us up and said if we needed any food to just ring in and ask and they’d give it to us,” he said.
The church quickly became a hub for residents to receive support from locals as well as the Housing Executive.
“Not everyone came here. Some people just went and stayed with relatives but everyone that was here the council got them sorted with somewhere to stay for the next two nights before they get emergency accommodation sorted for them,” the pastor added.
Mr Gray praised the local council, the Housing Executive and the NIFRS for their fast response to the flooding.
“I can honestly say I think the response was flawless. They did everything they could as quickly as they could but it is very hard for the people affected, like they aren’t going to be back into their homes for months,” he said.
This was the scene on the Hillhall Road in Lisburn which had been closed to traffic this morning
An emergency payment scheme was activated at the weekend by Communities Minister Gordon Lyons, meaning householders who have suffered “severe inconvenience” from flooding can claim a £1,000 payment through their local council.
The Met Office said the weather this week is expected to be much calmer than the weekend.
It will begin cloudy and windy with some bright spells and scattered heavy showers.
However they are not expected to be as strong as the heavy rainfall Storm Bert brought.
The wind will ease and the showers gradually clear during Tuesday.
This will leave Wednesday and Thursday mainly dry with bright spells and light winds, perhaps with rain later on Thursday.
Into next weekend, we could expect to see light rain changing to overcast by lunchtime on Friday which will likely stay for the duration of the weekend.
In the Republic, the storm, which landed overnight on Friday, flooded villages and roads, and disrupted travel.
Torrential rainfall caused havoc across many rural communities with homes flooded, infrastructure damaged, roads left impassable, festive attractions closed and Christmas shopping interrupted.
At its peak, over 60,000 homes and businesses were left without power as Storm Bert battered Ireland with torrential rainfall and high winds.
A man walking his dog carefully avoids the folded pathway as he walks on the grass along the banks of the Waterworks Swan Lake in north Belfast . Photo: Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX
Almost 50,000 people were successfully reconnected on Saturday evening as repair crews began operations once it was safe to do so. All businesses and householders were expected to be reconnected by last night.
Thousands of customers also had water supplies hit by Storm Bert as treatment plants in Banteer, Fermoy and Dunmanway in Cork were impacted by the storm winds and flood waters.
More than 100 roads nationwide, mostly rural, were left impassable on Saturday due to the combination of flooding, fallen trees and storm debris.
In Co Donegal, Bridge Street in Killybegs was dramatically flooded, with homes and charities impacted, while the River Feale in west Limerick burst its banks.
After alerts warning of rain, wind and snow lifted on Saturday, clean-up operations began and power supplies were restored to thousands of homes and businesses.
However, the combination of damage to property and infrastructure, allied to the disruption of critical Christmas trade, is expected to see losses run to millions of Euro.
Some traders fear they have suffered flood-related damage to much of their critical Christmas stock.
Forecasters issued a low-level wind warnings for 13 counties across the island.
Forecasters at Met Eireann said gusty winds will create a risk of fallen trees and difficult travelling conditions in these counties.
Storm Bert also played havoc with public transport across Ireland with dozens of Iarnrod Eireann and Bus Eireann services either delayed or cancelled because of the conditions.
A number of flights were also either delayed or diverted at the height of the storm.
The public has also been urged to stay away from exposed coastal areas due to hazardous gusts which could continue for a couple of days.