Clare homes cut off by up to 8ft high floods for over a month

The front garden of one of a number of homes cut off by flood waters for more than a month, has been designated an emergency landing site in the event of a local resident needing to be airlifted to hospital.

A total of five homes at Ballycar near Newmarket on Fergus in Co Clare remain cut off as their local road flooded to a depth of more than 8ft in two locations.

The flood waters are so deep that the area is only accessible by boat or by trekking through fields and local gardens.

While a similar situation arose in 2008 and 2009, this year’s flooding is the worst in almost 20 years and has again forced the closure of the Ennis to Limerick rail line. One family has been forced to leave their cottage which remains flooded.

One local man has to trek through three neighbours’ properties, two fields and climb several walls and through a hole in the hedge with twins who are under the age of two.

Clare County Council had committed to resolving the issue following the serious floods of 2009 and had undertaken preparatory works. However, no funding was available to complete the project.

Residents say the water in the area will continue to rise for another few weeks and could take up to a month on top of that to recede if there isn’t any further heavy rainfall.

Members of Shannon fire service have placed emergency firefighting equipment in the area for prompt deployment in the event of a fire. The front garden of one home has been identified as a landing site for the Irish Coast Guard helicopter if anyone requires urgent hospital treatment.

“We have been cut off now since the beginning of February. This happened to us in 2008 and 2009 and the water has reached the road several times in the years since. The locals were promised this work would be done and it wasn’t. It needs to be sorted now,” said local man Brian Keogh.

Clare County Council senior engineer Eugene O’Shea said: “Emergency Services personnel have called to each of the houses affected to ensure that smoke detectors are fitted and firefighting equipment has been stored locally to ensure that in the event of a fire there would be no delay in responding.

“Ambulance services have been appraised of the access issues and information for the coastguard access provided should it be required,” he added.