EMERGENCY environmental response teams have been praised by a South Belfast councillor after a quick response to the threat of flooding along the river Lagan.
SDLP councillor for Botanic Gary McKeown praised responders who arrived quickly to install sandbanksin the lower Ormeau and monitored water levels after heavy rainfall and high tide threatened to cause flooding in the area.
South Belfast, particularly around the Lagan is prone to flooding, and previous years have seen homes and business impacted due to heavy rainfall and high tides causing the waters of the river to swell.
FLOODS: Emergency response teams assessing water levels in the river Lagan
Councillor McKeown praised the response teams, and stated it was imperative that more investment was made into Belfast's sewage and drainage system.
“I was on the ground when the emergency response was activated," he said.
"I saw a big response from the emergency teams involved. There were lorries full of equipment and sandbags to ensure flooding and the risk of flooding was minimised.
"Thankfully there wasn’t any flooding, but it was reassuring to see such a fast and active response to deal with the threat of flooding if it had occurred.
"Part of the issue is that Belfast’s drainage system isn’t fit for purpose. It’s Victorian and cannot cope with the pressures of a modern city. There is progress however going on with the upgrading the sewage system with the sewage scheme, and there has been progress in places such as the Ravenhill Road which has been ongoing for some time.”
Councillor McKeown, who is Deputy Chair of the Belfast City Council’s Climate and City Resilience Committee, said the risk of mass flooding should serve as a wake-up call in dealing with climate change.
⚠️ Precautionary Alert ⚠️
— Cllr Gary McKeown (@garymckeown) November 24, 2022
Due to high tides tonight and significant flow in the Lagan from recent heavy rainfall, I'm in touch with multi-agency partners who are monitoring this and responding as required.
Hopefully ok, but ring me or drop me a message if you need assistance.
“With climate change as a result of human activity, it sadly stands to get worse in years and I don’t think we’ll be alone in dealing with the problem. Areas such as the lower Ormeau have been hit with very bad flooding in previous years, so it’s reassuring to see such a fast response from the emergency teams.
"We’re seeing the impact of climate change; we’re seeing the unpredictability of the weather. Climate change isn’t just hot summers, it’s heavy rainfall such as we’ve experienced which can lead to flooding. This should act as a wake-up call for everyone. We need to look to increasing our access to renewable energy and look at it as an accelerator towards investing in renewable energy.”
