Extensive flooding in South Galway has forced several people from their homes and caused the closure of a number of businesses.
Labane resident and Deputy Mayor of County Galway, Bridie Willers is one of those affected by the floods. She and her family were forced to leave their home on Tuesday night after water began to seep up through the floor.
“There is no loss of life. There is devastation everywhere but we will survive,” she told The Clare Champion.
On Wednesday, two inches of water remained on the ground floor of the house.
“The water just came up through the floor on Tuesday, under the house. I can’t see where it came from. My mother, who lives nearby, moved on Sunday but we thought the water wouldn’t go into our house. I mean I live in a very old house and there is no record of any flood in it ever,” she explained.
“Essentially, we have been marooned since last Thursday but we were able to get in across the fields. I feel very helpless, you know, but how can you help other people when you can barely manage what is happening to your own family?” she asked.
Floodwater has affected the Labane area particularly badly.
“There are people worse off than me but the water is still coming and people are trying to get animals to safety and trying to keep themselves safe. If you knew when it would end it wouldn’t be as bad. The floodwaters are still rising. My neighbours here, the people in Ardrahan, in Kiltartan, in Beagh, in Gort and all over the area, they are shocked to bits,” she added.
For those who find themselves in a similar situation to Bridie, there is little comfort.
“People have my heartfelt sympathy. I don’t have young children but I can’t imagine how hard it must be on people who have. I am also thinking of people who just bought homes in the area and who invested heavily in them, it must be very tough for them. Words are no consolation to them,” she stated.
According to Bridie, it is too early to apportion blame for what is happening. She believes the focus of efforts should be on relief for those worst affected by the flooding.
“We can’t rant and rave about what caused this yet because we just want to get through the day. We had exceptional rainfall. The tides are high and everything is against us. This happened 15 years ago with this kind of rainfall coming over a period of three weeks. Last Wednesday there wasn’t a drop of rain on the road here and since then the whole area has filled with water,” she outlined.
The Galway county councillor believes it will take over a month for the area to return to anything close to average saturation.
“People are coping, we have to. I would say this will take about six weeks to clear and get back to normal. That is only if the rain stops immediately but there is more bad weather promised so we don’t know when it will end. This is the wrong time for the blame game, there will be plenty of time for post mortems afterwards,” she said.
“It is horrendous. That is the only word for it. It is horrendous for everyone,” she concluded.
In nearby Peterswell, Justin Flannery has been in business for the past 20 years and employs two people. His abattoir and meat packing business is now under five feet of water in some areas.
“This is putting me out of business,” he told The Clare Champion. “The building and some machinery are gone,” he added.
Water began to breach his premises on Saturday and by Wednesday had risen several feet.
“Up until Tuesday night the water was still rising but it more or less held the same on Wednesday. The flooding started on Saturday. We didn’t know this was going to happen. It rose very quickly. On Saturday the water reached three feet, by Sunday the whole building was submerged and on Wednesday the deepest part of it was five foot,” Justin recalled.
The businessman is despondent about the future.
“I don’t know what is going to happen. You couldn’t put a time on the recovery. To deal with the flood alone you would need a month of dry weather before it would leave the yard. There are thousands of acres of flooding behind us. I just don’t know,” he said.
Local councillor Gerry Finnerty highlighted the huge frustration felt by people in terms of trying to relieve the build-up of water.
“We are dealing with this since last Wednesday morning and really the water just seems to be shifting from one area to another. As soon as one place is sandbagged, the water just moves to somewhere else. This is a crisis. It is something I would not believe if I wasn’t seeing it for myself,” he said.
As well as people losing their homes and businesses, the Fianna Fáil councillor and mart manager also highlighted the crisis facing farmers, with land waterlogged, sheds flooded and fodder destroyed. On Wednesday Gerry, along with County Offaly man Joe Bracken, coordinated a shipment of fodder from farms in the midlands and east to areas in extreme difficulty around South Galway.
“This is being distributed to those worst affected farmers, those in real trouble caused by this flooding,” Gerry concluded.