Philippine flood victim’s body to be returned

THE body of the Filipino woman who drowned when her basement flat was submerged during last week’s flooding in Dublin will be flown home tomorrow.

Celia de Jesus today lies in repose at the Mortuary Chapel at Our Lady’s Hospice, Harold’s Cross, where she had worked in the years before she died last week. Following a funeral service tomorrow at the hospice, her body will be taken to Dublin Airport and flown home to the Philippines.

A 58-year-old mother of one, Ms de Jesus had been planning to return home to Quezon City in the Philippines for a holiday to be with her husband Angelito and her teenage son, Michael Kevin.

Her basement flat at 4 Parnell Road, Harold’s Cross, close to where she worked as a care assistant, was engulfed by flood water on Monday last week when hours of torrential rain led to water overflowing from the nearby Grand Canal and rushing down the small open space in front of the house.

People in separate flats upstairs in the building heard banging as Ms de Jesus tried to get out of the flat, while one of her neighbours said he had broken glass panes on the ground floor in an attempt to rescue her.

Ms de Jesus was a member of the household team in the rheumatology rehabilitation unit at the hospice and had first come to Ireland in 2001, subsequently gaining Irish citizenship.

Tomorrow, Ms de Jesus’s body will be removed to the adjoining chapel for a prayer service at 11am and then brought to Dublin Airport.

Prayers were also offered for Ms de Jesus last Friday at the funeral Mass for Garda Ciaran Jones, who died when he was swept into the River Liffey by water close to his home in the Co Wicklow village of Manor Kilbride.

Meanwhile, the Irish Red Cross has said it expects to hand out its first cash grant to flood victims this week.

The charity, alongside other organisations such as the St Vincent de Paul, have been helping many households that sustained serious damage due to last week’s torrential rain.

Rebecca Thorn, Irish Red Cross spokesperson, said the charity had been working with a number of households since last week’s devastating floods, and said many people are still staying with relatives due to the damage caused by flood water.

She said that there was “probably a mix” of people requiring help, including those who have insurance but where the damage had not been assessed, and others who did not have any insurance to cover their belongings that were damaged or lost.

Assessments of damage are carried out by the Community Welfare service, who then provide organisations such as the Irish Red Cross with that assessment so grants up to €1,000 can be provided.