'Water came in up to our waist': Calls for better flood defences in Mogeely

A RESIDENT of a housing estate near Midleton that was left “destroyed” following Storm Babet in October has called for the urgent delivery of interim flood defence measures to alleviate peoples’ fears.

It comes following an announcement by the Office of Public Works (OPW) that it has been working with Cork County Council in the hope of preventing future destruction in the area.

In a statement issued to The Echo, the OPW said an assessment of Storm Babet by the consultant engineers for the scheme recommended implementing an assessment of the interim measures to mitigate the flood risk in the short and medium term, pending the completion of the major flood relief scheme for the town of Midleton.

The Minister of State for the OPW, Patrick O’Donovan, also referenced plans when addressing the Oireachtas finance and public expenditure committee this week and said a plan for interim flood-defense measures for Midleton is set to be completed by Cork County Council in a matter of weeks. While concentration on flood defence measures for the town has been welcomed, homeowners in an estate in Mogeely, less than 10km away, feel as though they have been forgotten.

Resident of Gleann Fia estate Vivienne Jeffers told The Echo that residents have been living in fear since the flooding on October 18 caused by water coming from agricultural land behind the estate which she said affected 30 of the 32 houses in the estate.

She recalled how she had to escape her home with her children, aged nine and seven, through the front window of their sitting room.

“We’ve only got a soakaway in our green, but we’re not connected to the main storm drainage locally at all, we’re not connected to any system. So, the soakaway got overwhelmed on October 18 and it flooded 30 houses out of 32,” she said.

“I had my children home sick from school that day, and the water came in up to our waist and as soon as the water started coming in, the floorboards lifted and blockaded the front door so I couldn’t even escape with them. It happened so quickly. I realised that we needed to evacuate but nobody was coming to help, we were on our own.

“I needed to get them out the front window of the sitting room and carry them on my back to get them across the water to safety.

“It was like something out of a movie, you wouldn’t get it in real life, at least we shouldn’t get it in real life.”

She described the aftermath of the flooding as “complete demolition” and said Cork County Council brought in skips to take away what she said could only be described as rubble.

“We were left in rubble, it was like a war zone in here,” she said.

The estate was threatened for the second time on December 26, but residents, the fire service, and the council’s road crews managed to control the flow of water and prevent it from overpowering the estate again.

Ms Jeffers called for action, saying her priority now is to ensure the safety of her kids.

“For me personally, I need to be able to tuck them in at night knowing that I’ve explored every possible option that is there to keep them safe,” she said.