‘It was like a scene from Armageddon’

The first inkling I had that something was wrong was sometime before 5am when I heard a car go through the estate — Meadowbrook in Glanmire — with the driver beeping and roaring out the window.

I was all set to give out to him until I looked out the window and saw what looked like a river running through the estate.

I rushed downstairs and tried to stop it coming through the door but at that stage, it was too late. It was a strong torrent of water and there was nothing I could do to stop it.