‘Everything is gone’: Occupants advised to leave flooded homes

Residents have been warned to prepare for more flooding as further heavy rain is forecast over the bank holiday weekend, according to emergency planners.

Clean-up operations continued amid the threat of more rain in some of the worst-affected towns, like Enniscorthy and Aughrim, and areas in South Dublin.

These areas were on the itinerary for Minister of State for the Office of Public Works Kevin “Boxer” Moran on Thursday, as he assessed some of the flood damage after Storm Chandra.

His visits come amid anger at delays to flood relief schemes around the country.

Elaine Byrne, who lives in Aughrim, told the Press Association that her whole house became flooded in the space of 20 to 30 minutes.

She said she had not experienced such flooding in the area, stating that a local pitch had been turned into a “river”.

“This was horrendous. Water came in everywhere – it was under walls, in through windows.”

Asked about the extent of the damage, Ms Byrne said: “Everything is gone. Every single thing that we had. There’s one unit in the sitting room, and now the water dripping at the bottom of it and it has to go.

“The kitchen – most things are gone, the legs on the table are starting to swell, the chairs are starting to swell and all the appliances on the ground are gone because it was sewerage water flowed in as well.”

Ms Byrne said “there’s nothing that can be salvaged” as the water level was halfway up the radiators.

She has now been advised not to stay in the house which she has lived in for 18 years.

“It is heartbreaking to see all the things I built up over the years – and it’s gone,” she said.

Ms Byrne said they had never experienced water flooding into the house before, with only one occasion where water had come close to the front door.

She said Mr Moran saw the damage and commiserated with her, but she said the Government had to do “something drastic” to support affected homeowners.

“What’s the point in us doing the house up if it happens again. I’m afraid to leave the house in case it (happens) again – you can’t just leave the house filling with water.”

Catherine Kenny told the Press Association the floodwater came into her home like a “tsunami”.

She said the water was up to the top step on her flight of stairs and she needed help getting her 15-year-old son, who has Down’s syndrome, out of the property.

Ms Kenny said the ground floor was destroyed and that there is “nothing left”.

She said she was advised to return to the property and live out of the upstairs area but she was “worried sick” for her son, who also has asthma.

Ms Kenny said she felt that Mr Moran and council officials just “passed by” her when she sought help.

After staying on her daughter’s floor for two days, later on Thursday the council was able to provide her with alternative accommodation.

Meanwhile, the Republic of Ireland’s National Emergency Coordination Group met on Thursday to assess the continued clean-up as a result of Storm Chandra.

It said localised flooding will continue to be a risk because of saturated ground conditions and high river levels, with those in the east, north-east and south-east most at risk.

Mr Moran said he wanted to assure those affected that “Government is here to support” them.

“Whatever is to be done will be done to alleviate the problem,” he said.

“There’s an awful lot of rain coming. I can’t say where it’s going to hit, but it’s going to hit somewhere, and it’s coming fast.

“I want to make sure that the communities are ready for that in terms of backup support.”

An Emergency Response Payment has been made available to those living in properties directly affected by flooding, while businesses can avail of the Emergency Humanitarian Flooding Scheme.

Earlier, people dealt with serious traffic disruptions because of flooding and debris on road and rail routes.

A burst water main in the Fairview area of Dublin added to weather-related commuter disruption in the capital.

Subsidence also sent a tree onto the Dart rail route near Portmarnock, closing the service between Portmarnock and Howth Junction for a period.

The line, which also affected services to Belfast, has reopened.

Heavy winds and torrential rain caused significant disruption across the island of Ireland earlier in the week, including power outages, flight cancellations and 300 school closures in Northern Ireland.

Rivers burst their banks, including the Slaney in Co Wexford and the Dodder in Dublin, with fallen trees reported across the island.

Up to 20,000 properties were without power at the peak of Storm Chandra.

The scale of the flooding in some areas has heaped pressure on forecaster Met Eireann and the Government over whether the warnings were sufficient.

Heavy rain falling on already saturated ground and high river levels could cause further flooding on Thursday.

Met Eireann issued a yellow rain warning for the whole day in counties Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford, Wexford, Wicklow and Dublin.

Another yellow warning for rainfall will come into effect between 9pm on Friday and midnight into Saturday for Carlow, Dublin, Kilkenny, Louth, Waterford, Wexford, and Wicklow.

A union has reiterated a call for the introduction of climate leave when extreme weather makes it impossible to get to work, as parts of Ireland deal with the clean-up.

Unite has called for four days paid leave if extreme weather makes it impossible to travel to work and four days paid leave to be available if workers have to address needs at their home.

The union’s demands also include a legal obligation on employers to implement graduated alert-based responses, with non-essential outdoor work ceasing during amber/orange alerts and all non-essential work ceasing during red alerts.

They say that workers should be paid as usual for days where work is required to stop because of the weather.

Unite also wants a 24C “action level”, where heat management controls must be put in place, and an absolute maximum of 30C for when work should stop if it cannot be prevented.

In Northern Ireland, further rain is expected to fall on already saturated ground and the Met Office issued a yellow weather warning from midnight until 6pm on Friday.

While the wettest conditions are likely over Antrim and Down, there is potential for many areas to see 10-25mm build up, with 40-60mm over some hills.