Storm Frank: ‘It’s time now to let the money flow, and not the water’
The heartbreak and frustration was palpable, the despair and anger near explosive. And the fury, as expected, was directed at the Government.
From 9.40pm on Tuesday, Cork County Council’s early warning flood system flashed text messages of yellow, orange, and finally, at 12.37am, a red alert code.
Acting county manager Clodagh Henaghan convened a County Hall meeting at 6am of its crisis management team which involved mobilising the fire service, the army and the civil defence. A spokesperson said: “We had conference calls from 3am before we initiated the 6am meeting and a level 3 alert which deals with the risk of significant damage being caused.”
Just weeks after the devastation of Storm Desmond, flood waters gushed through the streets of Bandon, in particular, and kept communities in Skibbereen and Bantry on high alert for near endless hours.
New Year’s Eve celebrations tonight, were furthest from the thoughts of hotel owner Don O’Sullivan. “We were just keeping going since the December 5 floods, it’s more than demoralising at this stage,” said the owner of the Munster Arms Hotel in Bandon. “It’s survival now, I really don’t know what’s going to happen. I have no idea. I’m not even thinking about bed nights or dinner parties to bring in the New Year.”
As some of the hotel’s 40 full and part-time staff began to pump and brush out over 2ft of flood waters from the Oliver Plunkett St building, the adjacent road at Brady’s Lane had created an early morning reservoir of up to 7ft of water — demonstrating the severity of the rainfall and its build-up over a period of weeks.
“I don’t have insurance, if we can’t do a cheap and manageable job to get back into business, I don’t know ... I can’t answer the question of what happens next,” said Mr O’Sullivan.
“Some businesses are still boarded up since the 2009 floods, and since that year, I can’t think of any local businesses that changed hands. Maybe tomorrow or the next day, I’ll have answers but, at the moment, there’s nothing we can do to stop Bandon from flooding.”
Riverside resident and businesswoman Gillian Powell is at the heart of the flood relief campaign for Bandon. With the town’s river bursting its banks, she has to consider future options for the location of her Montessori school.
“People in this town are so resilient,” she said, “they are the best of people and the community spirit is so extraordinary when trouble hits. People are hard working, they continue to show great initiative despite all the problems and there’s no better town to be in when you are in trouble.
“But we are becoming weary, not only of the weather, but of the broken promises by politicians. People were promised aid would arrive before Christmas but they didn’t get it. People are very disappointed when promises are not fulfilled and it doesn’t give us much confidence or encouragement for the future.
“It’s very hard to understand why politicians or a government agency didn’t push through that money, especially to the worst hit. But there will be change, there’s an election coming and we need serious people to address our problems and do the job they promised they would do.”
Ms Powell and other members of the flood action group met with OPW minister Simon Harris and his officials on a visit to West Cork after the flood devastation three weeks ago.
She said: “It’s about time we had one agency in charge of the country’s flood problems. It’s a national emergency, year on year and no government seems to care.
“They are playing roulette with people’s lives and their livelihoods.”
Bandon-based county councillor Margaret Murphy O’Mahony said urgent humanitarian support was needed to help residents and businesses hit by flooding.
She criticised the Government’s lacklustre response to the emergency and said communities affected felt let down, having to fend for themselves against the latest storm.
“Bandon and Skibbereen in particular have been flooded for the second time in less than a month. People have been trying to get back on their feet after the storms that hit West Cork in early December, but now they have to contend with even more floodwater.
“It truly is heartbreaking. People feel exhausted by it all, especially as it has hit during the Christmas period.
“However what people feel the most frustrated about is the fact that the Government has been completely invisible over the last few days despite the countless warnings issued by Met Éireann.
“Why hasn’t the Taoiseach called an emergency cabinet meeting to co-ordinate the response to this latest flooding? People’s lives are being ruined here yet there doesn’t seem to be any urgency from the Government in wanting to deal with this.”
Publican Liam Crowley who runs Little Nora’s in North Main St said, along with staff and friends, they starting moving furnishings in the early hours in preparation for the flood.
“It was not at the level of 2009 but it was brutal, that’s the only way I can describe it. Waters came in through the building very fast. It was traumatic, it’s a flashback for us to the 2009 flood.”
Roads around Macroom, and particularly the Masseytown and Creedon Park areas, were flooded although locals reported relatively little serious damage in the area to business and homes. However, at one point as many as 1,000 properties were without electricity in the Macroom area.
By yesterday evening the flooding had receded although people were still being advised to travel with care.
However, in nearby Kilmurray a large funeral for a prominent GAA official found itself in the dark after the power went, leaving the whole village without power.
Other areas in Co Cork such as Ballingeary and Crookstown were also affected by flooding, as was the town of Coachford.
Declan Murphy, who operates the Centra store in Coachford, said local people were extremely angry with Cork County Council as the flooding had simply exacerbated an existing problem where sewers are backing up, resulting in raw sewage on the street.
Mr Murphy said several houses around Coachford have suffered from flooding to some extent in recent weeks and that the pumping of water began at 10pm on Tuesday and was still in operation as of last night. He said people were sick of the sewage problem. “It has become a health issue,” he said. “If you walk through the village in four or five places you will see raw sewage coming up. We are particularly annoyed with the council. This is an issue since 1989.”
Like so many roads around the county, flood waters and fallen trees also affected road access, with the road from Coachford to Dripsey closed.
In Skibbereen, businessman Cathal O’Donovan said a deadly combination of high tide, large volumes of water, and winds caused problems in Townsend St, Mill Rd, Bridge St, and Main St along with the carpark.
“The emergency services were extremely proactive and due to their support, the risks were minimised.”
He said a sewerage scheme provided a number of years ago doubled as a drainage system which helped ease the flood waters. However, he said the flood relief committee is demanding that Public Expenditure Minister Brendan Howlin, in particular, signs off a new flood prevention scheme before an election is called.
“In terms of design and preparation, our proposed scheme is well developed but it’s the final 10% we are worried about. It needs to be pushed over the line before the end of this period of Government. The scheme is at tender, as such, and a decision is due shortly.”
However, he said the concern is over a delay in the assessment of an environment impact study.
“There has been six years of preparation for the scheme and 22 studies carried out. We want the studies and assessments to come to an end and it’s time now to start building the walls and embankments that are part of the prevention scheme,” said book store owner Mr O’Donovan. “It’s a €14m scheme and a lot of businesses and homes are relying on it being approved. It’s time now to let the money flow, and not the water.”
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