Stranded motorists rescued from rising waters

PANICKED motorists had to be rescued from waters up to four feet deep in parts of Dublin after the weekend’s record rainfall trapped them in flash floods.

Civil Defence officers in snorkel-equipped landrovers had to turn back and call in their ex-army trucks to take families to safety from the back road to Dublin Airport after the fast-rising waters caught them unawares.

“There were 12-15 cars in particular that were in a very bad way,” said the officer in charge, Commandant John Moriarty. “Flood water is a terrifying thing and when you’re stuck in a car in the middle of it, you’re helpless.”

The occupants were evacuated to the nearby Carlton Hotel but even as the rescue operation was underway, Cmdt Moriarty said some motorists were determined to continue their journey.

“We saw people abandon their cars and attempt to cross the water with suitcases on top of their heads, trying to get to the airport for flights. I don’t think they realised how dangerous it was.”

More than 100 voluntary Dublin Civil Defence members worked throughout Saturday night and yesterday morning in tandem with the Dublin Fire Brigade to respond to some 600 calls for help by flooded and frightened members of the public.

Cmdt Moriarty said open manholes invisible under the water and floating sewage surging out of drains were just some of the hazards faced by rescuers and rescued alike. “The big problem with flash flooding is that you don’t see it coming the way you might if you were watching water levels gradually rise in a river. Suddenly you have thousands of tonnes of water descending down your street, trying to get into drains that are full.”

But he added some motorists literally drove themselves into trouble by misjudging the depth of water blocking the streets around them. “People were taking chances when they would have been better staying put.”

But some motorists were utterly powerless to prevent running into the mayhem that erupted when the early afternoon cloudburst on Saturday dumped as much rain on parts of Dublin as is usually seen in the entire month of August.

Tens of thousands of travellers were already on the road to matches in Croke Park and other popular summer events when the downpour began.

Met Éireann described the conditions as “exceptional”, attributing them to the combination of warm temperatures and heavy cloud. As warm air rose, condensing into more cloud, the temperature below rose further, forcing even more warm air to rise, rapidly increasing the cloud density until it burst, releasing quantities of rain that exceeded even the amounts that fell during Hurricane Charlie in 1986.

Worst affected of the residential areas in Dublin were Finglas, Collins Avenue and Griffith Avenue on the northside; Ballyfermot and Inchicore to the west and Firhouse and Knocklyon to the south.

In Finglas local people described a flash flood that knocked down walls and ripped up gardens in minutes as being like a “tsunami”. Massive disruption was also caused on all major roadways around the city, with sections of the M50 like a river with tailbacks stretching for kilometres.

The N4, N3, N7 and the Port Tunnel were also impassable for a time and the N3 and tunnel remained closed until late yesterday afternoon.

Dublin’s Lord Mayor, Cllr Eibhlin Byrne, praised the actions of the emergency services, public health officials and local authority roads, waste and drainage staff, many of whom were pulled off holidays to respond to the crisis. “This was an unprecedented and extreme weather event and it is great to hear that serious injury and fatality have been avoided,” she said.

However, some observers questioned the preparedness of the local authority to deal with the incident. Peter McKenna, director of Croke Park stadium, where thousands of fans were stranded on Saturday afternoon after flash floods blocked the key Jones Road exit, said blocked drains in the area contributed to the problem.

“It’s astonishing. I think that’s something that the council need to look at seriously come Monday,” he said.

Council spokesman, Alan Breen, said some drains may have become blocked by floating debris, but he rejected the suggestion that there was any underlying fault with the drainage system. “This was exceptional. It’s the highest rainfall in decades,” he said.

A meeting between council officials and representatives from the National Roads Authority, the Health Service Executive, fire brigade and Civil Defence will take place later this week to review the response to the emergency.