Swathes of city ‘can no longer be insured’

Large parts of Cork City are now “uninsurable” due to the spate of flooding incidents in recent years — the most recent of which occurred just over a week ago.

A Cork City Council review of the flood said the concentrated nature of the deluge was “unpredictable and unprecedented”.

The report said the inability of watercourses to deal with prolonged intense rainfall was a primary cause of the widespread flooding.

Speaking at the sometimes heated meeting last night, Cllr Kenneth O’Flynn said “the reality is that large parts of Cork City are now uninsurable” due to the incidences of flooding.

Cllr Joe O’Callaghan said the reaction to the floods was not the council’s “finest hour” and the flooding in Ballyvolane and Blackpool was “outrageous and should never have happened”.

Councillors raised the issue of insurance cover for those affected by the floods as well as questioning planning decisions. Cllr Chris O’Leary said: “Serious questions have to be asked about planning granted on flood plains and on wetlands. You don’t need to be Einstein to realise that if you build on those you will have problems.”

However, after presenting the council’s report on the floods, city manager Tim Lucey rejected that questionable planning decisions led to areas being flooded.

Cork County Council, meanwhile, is to seek emergency funding from several government departments to carry out major flood prevention work in several towns and villages.

Several roads and bridges, along with public buildings, require urgent attention.

The council is also seeking aid to provide humanitarian relief for hundreds householders and businesses affected by recent floods.

County manager Martin Riordan said he had made preliminary submissions for funding €1.7m for immediate works in Clonakilty.

He said funding would be sought for studies to ensure flood prevention works were carried out on the Ballybrack and Glashaboy rivers to prevent repeat flooding in the Douglas and Glanmire areas respectively.

The council has commissioned RPS Consulting Engineers to conduct a study on the two rivers.

Furthermore, the local authority is seeking €7.4m from the Department of Transport to repair roads damaged as a result of the June 28 flood. The extent of the damage, outlined in a report delivered by county manager Martin Riordan yesterday, was mainly confined to the Douglas, Clonakilty, and Glanmire areas.

More than 70 houses were damaged by floods in Clonakilty, while 100-plus commercial properties and public buildings were also hit.

In Ballinascarthy, near Clonakilty, a further 18 properties were hit while a number also sustained damage in Rathbarry.

In addition, a total of 36 roads and 16 bridges/culverts require repairs.

The toll in Douglas was 12 houses, 100 commercial properties, a community hall, and medical centre.

In Glanmire, nearly all of the 49 houses in Meadowbrook estate were damaged, while some were flooded in Sallybrook. Ten commercial properties were affected in the Hazelwood Shopping Centre, including the county council-run library.