Donegal County Council has said that it will be pressing for the two Office of Public Works flood relief schemes in Raphoe and Castlefinn to be advanced as quickly as possible following Saturday night's flooding in the areas.
The council said the first reports of flooding in the east Donegal area were made to emergency services at 7.40pm on Saturday in the Raphoe, Castlefinn, Convoy and Killygordon areas.
In response, fire appliances were deployed to Castlefinn from a number of stations and also to Convoy while road staff were also mobilised to areas impacted by flooding within the river Deele and Finn Valley areas.
Sandbags were distributed to householders and businesses and measures were implemented to divert floodwaters where possible. Civil Defence units were also involved in the operation.
Council staff began the clean-up and assessment operation yesterday morning.
Bridges and culverts were inspected, debris was removed from roads and areas that will require more extensive repairs were secured.
According to the council, a minimum of ten commercial premises and eight domestic properties were flooded to an extent based on fire service reports, but these numbers are subject to update in the coming days as all reports are collated.
The council said that there had been no prior warning of an escalated risk for anywhere in Donegal.
A Status Yellow rainfall warning for 13 counties, including Donegal, had been issued shortly after 6.30pm on Saturday until 11am yesterday.
The council said it should be noted that yellow rainfall warnings are cautionary in nature and are frequent in Donegal and other counties. It said the records gathered of the rainfall event show that an extremely high figure of 84mm of rain fell on Saturday.
The council said it has been in contact with The National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management in relation to the flooding and to potential assistance available from the Department of Social Protection and the Department of Enterprise, Trade & Employment for householders and businesses.
Raphoe resident describes flooding as 'horrendous'
Meanwhile, Sinn Féin Councillor for Stranorlar Gary Doherty said people are very fearful of more rainfall this week and called for the council and the OPW to put in place any possible measures that might help prevent "a repeat of Saturday's nightmare".
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Mr Doherty said that portions of the flood relief schemes should be expedited.
He said the humanitarian assistance scheme should be activated immediately for "homeowners who suffered damage to their homes, because we're looking at damage to carpets, to household electrical items, to wooden floors.
"And many of these people won't be covered by insurance given the history of flooding in east Donegal."
Mr Doherty said the rainfall throughout Saturday just got "heavier and heavier" and turned some roads into rivers.
Seamus McGlynn, of McGlynn's restaurant in Castlefinn, said that after the hard work of local volunteers and emergency services, it reopened yesterday.
He said that due to ongoing issues of flooding, there is "a constant fear about losing our business".
Mr McGlynn also called on Donegal County Council to move quicker on this issue.
"We are indebted to to the amazing work of local farmers that saved homes and businesses from flooding overnight," he said.
Flooding discussed by councillors following emergency motion
The flooding in east Donegal was discussed by councillors at Donegal County Council today following an emergency motion by Councillor Gerry Crawford to suspend standing orders to review what happened on Saturday in the context of the council's response and the status of flood relief schemes for the affected areas.
Cllr Crawford said the motion was supported by all parties and he confirmed that Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue visited the Raphoe area this morning and will discuss the issues with Cabinet colleagues.
Cllr Crawford said he considered Saturday's event as potentially life-threatening with hidden dangers like the undermining of paths and damage to roads.
He said it is wrong that some people are under threat year after year and for some there is no financial comeback because they can not get insurance.
Reacting to concerns that rain forecast for later this week may lead to more flooding in east Donegal, Garry Martin, Director of Economic Development, Emergency Services and Information Systems with Donegal Count Council said the council has had no indication that there will be a repeat of what happened on Saturday.
However, Mr Martin said they will be forwarding sandbags to the areas as a measure to give people a sense of security.
