Cork restaurant hit by flooding for second time in three months
Owner Robert Platten woke this morning to find the Wild Restaurant in Ballinspittle flooded.
Flash flooding has caused damage in a Cork village for the second time in three months, with one business owner calling for increased support schemes.
Robert Platten, owner of the Wild Restaurant in Ballinspittle, said flooding hit the area at around 5.30am today, with water "flooding in from the back doors of the residential houses".
He said water came up through the drains and flooded part of his premises.
It is the second time his business has experienced flooding in the past three months.
Speaking to Patricia Messinger on C103's show, Mr Platten said the clean-up operation began early this morning, with the fire brigade arriving at 6.30am to pump water from the houses and manage the electrics.
“We're lucky, we live next door, so I managed to kill all the power and everything," he said. "We're lucky that way; last time we lost the fridge."
Suffering flooding for a second time in three months is an additional obstacle for his business in an already difficult industry, with the restaurant trade facing widespread closures.
“This is detrimental to our business now,” Mr Platten said.
The restaurant owner fears he will struggle to secure insurance further down the line if widespread flooding continues to affect the area, with many businesses hesitant to claim from their insurance companies as a result.
“That's why I don't think many people are really claiming on insurance because they don't want the end result to be that we can't get insurance,” he said.
Following clean-up efforts, Mr Platten is hopeful that his restaurant will open for business as normal later on Thursday.
It comes after another Cork town saw severe flooding last year. Storm Babet caused serious damage to a number of businesses in Midleton in East Cork.
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