Flooding Misery
Thursday, 21 August 2008
Norman and Pamela Minford: ‘working night and day’ to salvage their home in Riverside, Antrim.
A MAJOR clean-up operation is under way in the Antrim area this week after the worst flooding in decades caused millions of pounds worth of damage to dozens of homes.
Local people are assessing the damage after nearly a month's rain fell in just a few hours on Saturday afternoon causing the River Sixmilewater to burst its banks with catastrophic consequences.
Residents of Riverside, Graingers Mill, Raceview and Riveroaks and Meadowside in Antrim, and homes in Templepatrick and Randalstown were worst affected while the floods also caused massive disruption to drivers on roads throughout the borough.
Riverside in the centre of Antrim was one of the 'worst affected' areas throughout the country, according to Environment Minister Sammy Wilson when he visited a number of flood victims on Monday.
Water levels inside homes rose to a foot high caused by the unprecedented downpour resulting in thousands of pounds worth of damage.
As is the case in many homes located along the riverbank, carpets have been ripped up, floor boards ruined and electrical equipment destroyed.
Despite this, one Riverside couple remain defiant in the face of the floods and refuse to be 'forced from their home'.
Norman and Pamela Minford, who had new floors fitted two weeks ago, said they had been cleaning through the night to salvage their home.
“We've been working night and day to clean the place," said Pamela. "I'm shattered, I feel like I haven't sleep for a week.
“Our daughter wanted us to stay with her but we're not going to be forced out of our home."
Norman added: "There's no point in leaving anyway, you'll have to come back to it at some point. The floors have come up and all the electrics downstairs are ruined. The washing machine and the fridge freezer are broken and we've taken other things to the skip.
“And that's just the easy part, the hard part is getting the cement dried out before putting down new floors."
The local couple, who were visited by the Environment Minister on Monday afternoon, also explained how the smell caused by the flooding was 'unbearable'.
“It is like foul water that is coming into people's homes," said Norman. "Who knows what you could get from it, the smell is absolutely terrible."
“Mr Wilson was very helpful but I do not know what will happen now."
Another Riverside homeowner explained the 'horror' as he realised efforts to save his house were futile.
John Gribbin said: "It was touch and go and I thought I was going to be okay but the water just kept coming, eventually it reaches a point where you just have to accept it.
“I finished work on Saturday at 7pm and started making my own sand bags to stop the water coming in but at midnight it was still getting higher."
John's home has a balcony overlooking the Sixmilewater, which ended up submerged in the river as water seeped into his kitchen.
He added: "The whole experience was really scary and there was literally nothing we could do about it."
