Travel warning in place in Northern Ireland as heavy rain continues

The Police are warning the public not to travel between 9pm tonight and 9am tomorrow morning as a series of weather warnings are in place for further heavy rain.

Multi-agency partners have met and are continuing to respond to various yellow and amber rain warnings with preparations also being made ahead of Storm Ciarán.

The Met Office has issued various warnings for rain until Thursday.  A yellow warning is currently in place for most Northern Ireland counties until 12 noon tomorrow. An additional amber is coming into place tonight at 9pm until 9am for heavy rain in Counties Armagh, Antrim and Down. 

Another yellow warning has been issued for heavy rain tomorrow Tuesday until 9am on Wednesday. Heavy rain can also be expected on Thursday as Storm Ciarán arrives.    

These warnings follow an extremely wet weekend where flooding has already occurred on many roads.

The persistent wet conditions on saturated ground and with higher river levels this will inevitably lead to more localised flooding. Traffic disruption is possible and the public are being asked to consider their journeys and take extra care if travel is necessary. 

It may be necessary to close roads or put temporary restrictions in place. Road users are reminded to adhere to road signs and any temporary traffic lights.  If your journey is essential, reduce your speed, stay well behind the vehicle in front, remain focused and always wear your seatbelt.

Traffic information can be found at Trafficwatchni.

The Department for Infrastructure’s roads and rivers teams have been checking and clearing road gullies and drainage grilles and additional staff will be on standby. Monitoring of water levels and tides has been ongoing and will continue until the weather warnings have elapsed. 

Regional Community Resilience Groups have also been advised of weather patterns and to make appropriate preparations.

A spokesperson for the Police Service of Northern Ireland commented:

"The Met Office has issued an amber weather warning affecting counties Down and Armagh from 9.00pm tonight, Monday 30th October until 9.00am tomorrow, Tuesday 31st October . A yellow warning is in place for the rest of Northern Ireland.

"Persistent heavy rain will lead to further flooding and we would ask the public to take steps to minimise risk.

"Please stay at home where possible and do not make unnecessary journeys. If you must travel, please bear the prevailing conditions in mind.

"Reduce your speed and drive with extra caution. Excess surface water could lead to aquaplaning, and there is the potential for cars to get stuck in just a few inches of floodwater. Visibility is likely to be severely reduced.

"Consider the potential risks before you leave. Do not place yourself or others in unnecessary danger."

To report incidents of flooding, please contact the flooding incident line on 0300 2000 100. Calls taken by the incident line staff are passed to the relevant responding Agency.

Information about preparing for possible flooding, and what to do after a flood, is available at: nidirect - Flooding in your area.

Advice for road users in all adverse weather conditions can be found at: nidirect - Driving in adverse weather