Burst Cork water main was cleared during cold snap

A CRUCIAL 60-year-old water main that burst in Cork city yesterday, forcing more than 30 people to abandon their flooded homes, was given the all-clear just a few months ago during cold weather checks.

This emerged last night as devastated residents of Shandon Court and Shandon View Cottages on the city’s northside were still reeling from the second such flooding incident to destroy their homes in 15 years. Yesterday’s burst main was just 60 metres from the site of the 1996 breakage.

The alarm was raised just before 3am when an 18-inch high-pressure water main located under the Old Youghal Road ruptured, sending an estimated two million gallons of water cascading into nearby homes.

A young couple narrowly escaped drowning, two people were trapped upstairs in their home, and several people suffered minor injuries as the torrent swept down the Fever Hospital steps.

City fire crews helped evacuate 14 residents. Eight people stayed in emergency accommodation last night. Nineteen homes and 30 residents were affected, city manager Tim Lucey told councillors last night.

He said the rupture was “sudden” and occurred “without warning”. He said pipes in that part of the city were checked during the cold snap before Christmas and no issues were identified.

While repair crews found a large horizontal crack in the pipe during their work on site, he said investigations into what caused it are still ongoing. He advised affected residents to contact their insurance companies.

“The immediate priority for the council was to ensure that any displaced families were accommodated, and this has been done,” he said. “Housing staff have had contact with all those affected, and will continue to be of assistance in the coming days.”

The breakage caused severe disruption to water supplies but most affected households had water restored by late evening.

Lord Mayor Michael O’Connell said the city will work with residents over the coming days to address all the issues, and he praised the emergency services and council staff for their rapid response.

Labour Cllr Catherine Clancy said the damage to homes is immense and that people will be out of their homes for several weeks.

Cllr Ted Tynan said he wants engineers to establish if the pressure of water pumped uphill was a factor.

* See video of the flood on the Irish Examiner’s Youtube channel

* http://www.youtube.com/user/irishexaminer#p/a/u/0/PGJglHip9sk