Flood-hit businesses face insurance headache

Uninsured business-owners in Cork are appealing for help this morning following widespread flooding in the county yesterday.

Organisations such as the Red Cross have been urged to help out those whose businesses have been damaged by up to three feet of water.

Details are now emerging of uninsured businesses that have no way of paying for repairs.

Those living in Blackpool had struggled to get cover for their premises following previous floods within the past decade.

They say they now need external help to repair their homes - and maintain jobs.

"Hopefully now the Red Cross might come in and help us - and I'm being serious about that," said Bill Dunlea, chairman of Blackpool Community Centre.

"Somebody has to come in with emergency funding because we're devastated - this is going to close us down."

Michael Horan of the Irish Insurance Federation said that the first step is for business owners to contact insurers immediately.

Fianna Fáil Leader Micheál Martin called on the Government to establish a taskforce to ensure that insurance companies and banks with clients who were victims of the flash flooding in Cork are dealt with as quickly as possible.

The Government should also establish a compensation fund with quick access to those in the most need, Deputy Martin said.

“I am calling on the Government to establish a taskforce for Cork that pulls together all the supports and information people will need," he said.

“It’s crucial that neither the banks nor insurance companies are allowed drag their feet and delay recovery for homeowners and businesses."

Meanwhile Cork Lord Mayor John Buttimer has called for the development of a clear communications strategy for flood warnings.

Mayor Buttimer welcomed the emergency response by Cork city council to yesterday's severe flooding.

Both the city and county councils say there was nothing they could do to prevent the disaster, after 50 millimetres of rain fell in the space of three hours.

"The crisis response teams kicked in at the earliest possible stage," Mayor Buttimer told Red FM.

"The flood assessment and risk monitoring teams kicked in straight away.

"So there was very close cooperation between the two local authorities, but some of the people on the ground didn't realise that that was happening and weren't aware of what the inverventions were," he added.

"So I think that for us as local authorities, the lesson that we have to learn from yesterday is the need for clear communication strategies and the earliest possible communication to people on the ground."

Flood damage yesterday hit hundreds of homes and businesses in the suburb of Douglas with the village streets inundated by several feet of water, the shopping centre and well known local pubs and restaurants worst hit.

Douglas had suffered the heaviest rain in the country in a short blast yesterday evening – 49.1mm.

Some of the other hardest hit areas included Clonakilty, where the Farla river was close to bursting its banks most of the day with the town cut off for hours, and Glanmire where some homes in one estate ended up in five feet of water.

Nearer the city, the southside suffered the most with homes in Greenmount, Bishopstown, the Viaduct, Turner’s Cross, Ballyphehane and Togher badly damaged.

Mallow avoided danger as the flood waters on the Blackwater peaked in the afternoon while the warning systems for flooding on the River Bandon in Bandon town were on yellow most of the day, high status.

Met Eireann said 50mm of rain fell in a three-hour period across Cork on to already saturated ground – three times the average June total has fallen in Cork this month.

City Council bosses said pre-emptive action helped reduce the impact of the flash floods which left more than a dozen areas under water. Emergency services in the city received 128 calls for help following floods, including 45 callers needing direct rapid response.

Noel O’Keeffe, an engineer with Cork County Council, said the flood in Douglas was caused in part by a major storm culvert being blocked.

The drain is designed to cope with a 'one in 1,000' event.

“You have a trash screen on the outside to stop debris going in. It performed perfectly but a massive amount of debris came down,” he said.

The screen – 3.2m wide and 1.6m high – is designed to stop children climbing through.

It should have carried the flood under the Tesco store in Douglas.

Tyres, a gas bottle, blocks of timber, bricks, huge piles of the Japanese knotweed plant, leaves and mud had to be cleared from it at 5am.

The debris was washed down in one huge 15 minute deluge, he said.

The drain is designed to carry 14.7 cubic metres of water per second – 40% above the recommended 8.8 cubic metres.