Flood alert for Northern Ireland's coastal areas 6 January 2014 Last updated at 17:08 High tides and strong winds are causing difficult driving conditions on some parts of Northern Ireland's east coast, but Belfast has escaped major flooding. The threat posed to parts of the city by high tides has now passed. A small number of roads in counties Antrim and Down have been closed by flooding, but the effect of the tide was not as bad as initially feared. However, a police warning to avoid coastal areas remains in place for the rest of Monday. In County Down, high tides flooded the shorefront in Portaferry, Holywood Esplanade has been closed because of flooding and Newcastle promenade is shut due to "adverse weather conditions." Sailings on the Strangford ferry were suspended between 16:00 and 17:00 GMT because of the high tide. The A2 Coast Road through Carnlough village in County Antrim and a section of the Coast Road between Drains Bay and Ballygally were closed for a short time due to floods but have since reopened. Sandbags Shortly before 15:00 GMT, Belfast Lord Mayor Máirtín Ó Muilleoir tweeted that the tide had turned and he congratulated those who worked to ensure the city "stayed dry and safe." Thousands of sandbags have been given out in the Sydenham east Belfast in recent days, where homes were thought to be at risk. Alliance MP Naomi Long paid tribute to the services and agencies for their "swift response" to the situation over the weekend. There was a huge amount of effort involved in Sydenham to get the area ready for a flood that luckily did not materialise. "Although the worst-case scenario did not happen today or last Friday, I know the work that was undertaken was a huge reassurance to residents during what was a stressful time," she added. Good co-ordination As well as agencies such as the Fire and Rescue Service, Belfast City Council and Red Cross among others, particular praise must go to ACC Stephen Martin of the PSNI, who co-ordinated the efforts and had plans in place for every eventuality. "It was a fantastic example of good co-ordination and inter-agency working for the benefit of everyone in the area," Ms Long said. In County Down, police have set up a "multi-agency response group" at Ardmore PSNI station in Newry. It follows flooding on the Shore Road between Warrenpoint and Rostrevor during high tide on Sunday. Sandbags were made available for collection at Newry sports centre, Warrenpoint fire station, Kilbroney forest park in Rostrevor, Kilkeel leisure centre, and Marine Park in Annalong. Down District Council distributed sandbags from its depot on Strangford Road, Downpatrick, and from Bann Road recycling centre in Castlewellan. In Londonderry, residents in Culmore Point were unable to leave their homes for a time this morning, when the area was flooded. Sandbags were put in place in central Derry as a precaution, but fears eased following a high tide on Monday. Derry city centre manager Jim Roddy said: "Sandbags were necessary. There were fears that the River Foyle would burst. Preparations were kept in place for this morning and we were constantly getting updates from the PSNI, Foyle Port and Harbour and other emergency services. "In 2004 we had a disaster at Victoria Market near the pumping station and we didn't want that again," Mr Roddy added. All ferry sailings between Rathlin and Ballycastle were cancelled on Monday due to weather conditions. Elsewhere in the UK, the Met Office also issued yellow alerts for the west coast of Britain. In the Republic of Ireland, thousands of homes and businesses were left without power, amid strong winds and tidal surges. Some streets in central Cork were impassable for a time on Monday morning as the River Lee burst its banks again, but the water has since receded.