Grandmother says her 'heart is broken' as home hit by floods for second time

A woman who was looking after her autistic granddaughter when torrential rain caused her home to flood at the weekend says her 'heart is broken'.

Greta Mooney lives in Eglinton, Co Londonderry.

Her home, like many others in the north-west of Northern Ireland, was affected by the aftermath of torrential rain over the weekend.

Six people had to be rescued from flooding in Londonderry and Strabane.

It is the second time in five years that her home has been damaged by flooding. In August 2017, flash floods hit Londonderry causing people to evacuate their homes.

"It is horrendous," he told UTV.

"After the first flood five years ago, we were told that everything was in place and it wouldn't happen again because the rivers had been cleared up.

"Here we are, four to five years further on, house destroyed again and my heart's broken."

Greta's story is one of many across the region.

It comes as the Department for Communities has activated the Flooding Emergency Payment scheme.

Householders who have suffered severe inconvenience from flooding can claim £1,000 payment through their local council.

Firefighters tackled almost 50 emergency calls relating to flooding on Saturday.

"Last night was a night of terror," Greta said.

"I had my wee autistic granddaughter with me and I know she is eight years of age, but she is not capable of knowing her surroundings.

"I had to lift her and put her wherever she was comfortable and finally I got her to bed.

The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service said it received 106 emergency calls related to flooding between 7pm on Saturday to 1.30am on Sunday.

"Whenever I saw the water coming through the front door, I could have squealed," added Greta.

"It will be a long time before I recover from it."

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