Culvert clearancedid not prevent all Derry flooding

However, Foyle MLA Sinead McLaughlin said the action, while welcome, had not been enough to prevent flooding in Derry.

“In my constituency of Foyle, there has been some localised flooding. One of the reasons for that was blocked gullies. Will the Minister commit to looking into unblocking those gullies in the Derry city area?” asked the SDLP MLA.

Ms. Mallon replied: “I have been advised that culvert inlet grills were cleared and gullies were maintained as part of my Department’s proactive preparatory work ahead of Storm Ciara and that that did, indeed, reduce the risk of flooding in many locations across Northern Ireland.

“However, I recognise the concerns the Member raised about her constituency, and I will ask officials to get in touch with her to assess the situation.”

The Minister for Infrastructure said the western counties were particularly badly affected.

“The worst of the heavy rainfall associated with the storm fell across the west. Critical information on potential impacts as a result of the rainfall was shared with key partner organisations to raise awareness, and my Department played a key role in establishing the effective multi-agency emergency response to the storm,” she said, confirming 2,000 sandbags were deployed by her department in the most vulnerable areas.