The Chamber has just finished an emergency meeting on the current devastating flooding in Newry with Marie Ward, CEO of Newry, Mourne and Down District Council.
The key points for businesses to be aware of currently are:
- Please avoid Newry City Centre until further notice
- Do not enter flooded premises in any circumstances
- Do not attempt to turn off electric in flooded premises
- Await further instructions from the relevant agencies
The Council is working with all government agencies to deal with the continuing emergency. The next major risk period is the high tide at 1pm today and then at 1am on Wednesday morning and they are working to raise the level of the wall adjacent to Newry Town Hall in order to try to protect premises on Hill Street.
If your property is at immediate risk of flooding and therefore require sandbags, please contact the flooding incident line on 0300 2000 100. This number is available 24 hours a day.
Advice on insurance is business owners should please immediately contact their insurance company to check if they are covered for flood damage under their policy.
We have already heard from a number of businesses who are not protected against flood damage under their current policy with their insurance company.
We have raised the urgent need for compensation for those local businesses affected given the scale of the devastating damage caused by the flooding overnight.
Newry Chamber will continue to work tirelessly with other key stakeholders and collectively as a business community to recover from this and bounce back and if you require any assistance, please contact us via admin@newrychamber.com.
The Chamber will issue a further update when it is available and please try and stay safe out there.