Tag Archives: flooding

THE human side of the new-year storms, which caused extensive damage along the coast, has been neglected, according to a group representing 15 households in West Clare. At a meeting last week, Michael Neenan was elected chairman of the Clohaninchy Action Committee. He wants to see some protection in place for people in vulnerable areas on the coast. “The 15 houses that were under threat, nothing has been done for them. There is no emergency funding coming for the protection of their homes in particular,” he said. Mr Neenan said while Clare County Council has been very supportive in relation to the clean-up in the area, not enough has been done for the people worst affected. “The human side of all this has been neglected,” he said. “The council did a lot of work on the piers and prom in Lahinch and so on but no work has been done for the families and people in the 15 houses yet …

FIANNA FÁIL  spokesperson on Transport, Tourism and Sport, Timmy Dooley  is to meet the EU Commissioner for Regional Development, Johannes Hahn, today to seek EU assistance for the flood damage around the country. He will be joining MEP Pat the Cope Gallagher at the meeting in Strasbourg. “There is a mechanism in place for relief funding to be provided for countries that encounter severe weather conditions. In 2009, the Irish Government received €13 million in relief funding for the devastating floods of that year. “The Government needs to immediately apply for relief from the EU Solidarity Fund, we have already heard from Clare County Council that there was over €24m worth of damage caused in the county. Councils throughout the country are already struggling with substantially reduced Government grants and they urgently need some relief funding from central government and from Europe,” Deputy Dooley said.

THE construction of the proposed €100 million Limerick Northern Distributor Road (NDR) through a flood plain on the back road to the University of Limerick is “madness”, a local resident has claimed. Normally, Miriam McCormick, Shravokee, Clonlara cannot see any water when she looks out her front door, as the River Shannon is about a half a mile away. Now she is looking out at a “lake” where the NDR is proposed to go between her house and the neighbouring O’Briens. The road is planned to follow the electric wires near her home. “The general public need to know what madness it is to construct the Northern Distributor Road down through these fields that regularly flood. Hydrologists speak about the ‘stone in the bucket effect’ where if a bucket is full of water and you place a stone in it, the water will have to go somewhere. The same principal will apply to a floodplain when a major construction is …

FOUR families in Kilcredaun, Carrigaholt were marooned last weekend when high tide hit the picturesque townland, which is home to a historic lighthouse. The flooding resulted in the townland being rendered effectively an island from last Friday to Monday. A total of six houses were cut off by the flooding. The grounds of the nearby O’Curry’s Irish College were also adversely affected by flooding, following the breaching of the nearby sea wall. A number of houses in Carrigaholt village were also flooded when the village sea wall was breached at high tide, while the approach wall to the village, at the bottom of Moyarta Hill, was also damaged. The entry road to the village was completely impassable at the height of the tides. Geoff Magee, who along with his wife, Sue, runs Dolphin Watch in Carrigaholt, was one of the Kilcredaun residents who found themselves living on a temporary island. He underlined the urgency of repairing the damaged sea wall, …

FOUR families in Kilcredaun, Carrigaholt were marooned on Monday when high tide hit the picturesque townland, which is home to an historic lighthouse. The flooding has resulted in the townland of Kilcredaun on the Loop Head peninsula being rendered effectively an island. A total of six houses were cut off by the flooding in recent days. The grounds of the nearby O’Curry’s Irish College has also been hit by flooding following the breaching of a wall. Meanwhile,  a number of houses in Carrigaholt village were hit by flooding when the village wall was breached at high tide. Locals are very concerned that their difficulties will be exacerbated should further storms hit the area in the coming days.

CLARE County Council has issued a warning to home, business and land owners in flood prone locations and along the coast that there is potential for further flooding tonight and tomorrow morning. Lahinch promenade remains closed to the public until further notice following the extensive damage on Friday. Met Éireann has today issued a new Orange Alert for Clare warning of the danger of coastal flooding due to the combination of the gale force winds, high tides and very high seas. Local spot flooding inland could also occur. Council senior engineer, Tom Tiernan said, “We are advising members of the public to stay away from the seafront, particularly at Lahinch where it simply is not safe for people to be there as the structure of the promenade is seriously compromised. The facility will be reopened for public use as soon as possible.” Clare County Council, in conjunction with the Emergency Services, says it is also progressing contingency arrangements in terms …

MOTORISTS  have been cautioned by AA Roadwatch to exercise extreme care amid many incidents of flooding and excess surface water across many counties. Most of the flooding had receded by Monday afternoon when the rain gave way to bright sunshine but there cannot be any complacency in winter driving conditions. With more heavy rain forecast, AA Roadwatch advised motorists coming across floods not to drive through water unless certain it’s  not too deep for their car. The New Year looks like it will get off to a wet start, as a heavy band of rain is expected on Wednesday, Met Éireann said. There will be some respite on  New Year’s Eve, as the night looks like being mainly dry . However there will be showers is some southern and western coasts. By morning on New Year’s Day, heavy rain is expected for Munster and is forecast to spread to all areas early in the day . Met Éireann forecast that the …