A Belfast taxi-driver who had to climb to the roof of his car for safety after flood waters engulfed the Broadway underpass has spoken of how he feared for his life during the terrifying moments.

Kevin Curran was left stranded in the middle of the Westlink on Saturday after torrential rain caused the nearby Clowney River to burst its banks sending millions of gallons of water into the newly opened underpass.

The Belfast man said the waters rose so quickly that he did not have enough time to get to safety and was forced to climb on to the top of his vehicle and wait to be rescued.

“There did not seem to be that much water at all then all of a sudden it started flooding,” a shaken Mr Curran told UTV. “At that stage I was on the roof, the water was up here to my waist. It was frightening.

“The emergency services were absolutely fantastic. This one guy Mark, who was one of the firemen, he was as brave as brave can be. It’s thanks to him that I am standing here today.”

When asked if he thought he was in real danger Mr Curran replied: “Absolutely, I can’t swim at the best of times. When I saw the fireman getting in and seen how quickly he was (submerged) into the water, I thought ‘that’s here, I am bang in the middle of this’.

“It was amazing. The water was coming in from both ends and obviously coming down from the street. It was frightening.”

Meanwhile, farmers were forced to use slurry pumps to divert flood water away from new buildings in Beragh.

The Co Tyrone town was among the hardest hit by flooding over the weekend. Local GAA club the Red Knights were left counting the cost after its new clubrooms were completely ruined.

“I must pay a warm tribute to the public-spirited actions of the nine local farmers who answered the call for help of their distressed neighbours,” local councillor Seamus Shields said.

“Their admirable willingness to respond in the circumstances and the effectiveness of their actions is in the best traditions of the farming community in the Mid-Tyrone area.

“I must however be critical of the DOE planning Service for granting approval for these two housing developments in the first place. I warned when these planning applications came before Omagh District Council a few years ago that they were within the flood plain of the Cloughfin River and there was a risk flooding in the event of exceptional rainfall. Sadly this has now happened.

“However, I believe appropriate action by the Rivers Agency can prevent it happening in the future. The response of the farmers demonstrated that a lowering of the river bed at the western end of the village can enable the water to escape before it reaches dangerous levels.

“I will be asking the Rivers Agency to take immediate steps to ensure that this type of flooding is averted in future. Indeed with a little foresight it could have been prevented in the first place.”