Thousands march in Cork town to demand flood protection measures

Organisers of the rally through Midleton seek urgent action to protect homes, businesses, and lives.

Flooding in Midleton, Co Cork, following Storm Babet. Picture: Damien Rytel

Thousands have marched through a Cork town devastated by flooding last October to "scream out" for interim flood protection measures before the next storm season.

Organisers of the rally through Midleton in East Cork, the Midleton and East Cork Flood Protection Group, said they hope the event sends a clear message to government that they want and need urgent action over the coming months to protect homes, businesses and lives pending the delivery of the €50m Midleton flood relief scheme.

The Irish Examiner revealed last April that the scheme may not be ready for planning until 2026.

Caroline Leahy, one of the organisers of Saturday’s rally and whose own home was among those swamped in the flood, said people accept that the scheme is complicated and will take time to deliver but said people need something done in the short-term to reduce flood risk.

“We need something done now. They need to start doing some of these interim works this summer. We are screaming out for it to be done before another storm season,” she said.

“Obviously hundreds of homes and businesses were damaged but we had a number of close calls last October, we nearly had fatalities.

“I spoke to one man at the protest who told me that his daughter was caught in the flood waters, and fell into a manhole, and only for someone grabbing her by the hair, she might have been lost.” 

Storm Babet

More than 500 homes and almost 300 businesses in and around Midleton were devastated last October when Storm Babet hit, causing the Owenacurra and Dungourney rivers to break their banks, triggering a “biblical flood event”.

Engineers in the community who know the area well have examined several potential interim options and drawn up a list of possible works, including the construction of embankments around some estates, the installation of demountable flood barriers, and for two bridges in the town to be either removed or rebuilt after they were destroyed last October.

The Office of Public Works (OPW) told the Irish Examiner this week that since Storm Babet, identification and roll-out of interim measures have been progressed by Cork County Council, with interim works planned for this summer including vegetation channel clearance and removal of deposited material.

It also said the council plans to continue “efforts to reach landowner agreement regarding removal of bridges that were damaged during Storm Babet”.

In addition, Individual Property Protection (IPP) “is being considered” as part of the overall suite of measures for Midleton, the OPW said.

The council and the OPW are in the process of agreeing the scope and scale of an IPP scheme, which would see individual properties getting demountable flood barriers.

“A decision on this is expected shortly, so IPP can be rolled out by Cork County Council on a phased and targeted basis,” a spokesperson said.

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The OPW is also considering delivery of certain elements of the main flood defence scheme in specific areas in advance of delivery of the whole scheme which would include construction of embankments at certain locations.

The council has also established a new team of engineers which will be dedicated solely to dealing with flood defences and climate resilience projects in the region.

The council has said that the team’s first priority will be to assist in the rollout of interim works to help reduce the risk of flooding to properties in Midleton.

The organisers of Saturday's rally said they “beyond grateful and overwhelmed” at the turnout.

“We knew we would be supported but you will never understand how much it has meant to us and to every person dealing with the trauma of this flooding," they said.