Villagers plead with council to help stem the tide

ONE village in Cork was so badly hit by severe flooding in October 2004 and a number of houses so badly affected that their owners were forced to move out for up to six months.

Residents of Glounthaune village have appealed to the county council to help them prepare for the worst, and in the face of increased global warming, build proper defences for the years ahead.

Sandra Murphy, who runs the aptly named Rising Tide pub, has been frantically trying to source sandbags.

“It’s a certainty that the high tide will come. If it rains and there’s a south-easterly wind on top of that we’re going to be in real trouble,” she said.

Further housing development north of the village has put more pressure on the drainage system, with the result that locals are worried they could be hit by the “double whammy” of high tides and floodwater pouring in from both sides.

“We want sandbags provided by the council, drains cleared and constant surveillance on the sluice gates,” Ms Murphy added.

Jim O’Mahony, who has lived in the village for 50 years, and whose house was badly affected by the last flood, said that up to two-and-a-half feet of water poured into homes along with raw sewage, which had come up from drains.

Apart from the obvious damage and the loss of some treasured possessions, he said a great deal of psychological damage had been inflicted on locals and they didn’t want a repeat.

Insurance claims in the village are understood to have been in the region of €400,000.

“We need to raise the wall by the estuary. The houses in the village are two-and-a-half feet below the wall and if it is breached then water will just pour in,” Mr O’Mahony said.

Cork County Council said it will try to help households and premises at risk and will make sandbags available where it is satisfied that there is a substantial risk of flooding.

“As part of our preparations for high tides, all flap valves, ie discharge points for storm water, will be inspected to ensure they are working satisfactorily,” a council spokeswoman said.

Cork City Council said while high tides were a certainty, flooding was not.

Southeasterly winds, heavy rain and low barometric pressure must all combine with the high tides to cause the flooding, a spokesman said.