Council to seek funding for flood relief after woman in 80s stranded for two weeks

Several houses along the Awbeg river, particularly in the Ballyhea and Churchtown areas, have been inundated in recent floods.

Cork County Council is to seek major Government funding to carry out flood relief works on a river in North Cork which is constantly bursting its banks, resulting in a number of people being trapped in their homes, including a woman in her 80s who was cut off for two weeks.

It is the third time in over a year that the woman has been in this situation and during the latest bout of flooding caused by Storm Babet, her home help had to be brought to her by tractor.

The Awbeg River, a tributary of the Blackwater, has not been dredged for about 30 years and serious concerns have been raised that with increasing rainfall, more properties and roads close to it are going to be damaged coming into the winter.

Several houses along the river, particularly in the Ballyhea and Churchtown areas, have been inundated in recent floods.

Fine Gael councillor John Paul O'Shea was told by council engineers that he and councillors representing the area will be shortly given “a full briefing” on flood mitigation measures for the Awbeg.

Councillors attending a meeting of the Kanturk/Mallow Municipal District Council said it needed to be addressed as a matter of urgency because little or no work had been done on dredging the river for many years.

Mr O’Shea said the severity of the problem and the length of the river means drainage works will have to be done in phases and even if they started straight away it would likely take a few years to complete them.

“The woman in her 80s from Churchtown was cut off for two weeks this time. Her home help could only get to her on a tractor. That woman was left isolated three times in the last year. We can’t leave this to continue. Many of our roads around Ballyhea and Churchtown became rivers,” he said.

Fianna Fáil councillor Ian Doyle said he had visited a number of other people in the area who were trapped in the upstairs of their homes.

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“I saw the devastation caused and one of the major reasons is the Awbeg hasn’t been cleaned for years. There are houses close to it which are now getting flooded which didn’t before,” he said.

Council engineers said discussions were taking place between senior local authority managers and other stakeholders, including the OPW, to come up with a plan for the river.

They said since the most recent flooding, council workers are constantly checking culverts and the eyes of bridges to remove any blockages which might lead to the river bursting its banks.