Wexford gran’s ‘petrifying’ Storm Chandra ordeal as 3-week-old tot rescued from home & ‘not fit for purpose’ floods fury
AS storm Chandra lashed Ireland with torrential rain, a Wexford woman has recalled a “petrifying” ordeal her family endured after flash floods swamped their home.
Strong winds and torrential rain battered the country, submerging roads and felling trees across several counties.
The storm brought particular devastation to the east and south coasts, with Enniscorthy in Co Wexford “paralysed” by flooding after the River Slaney burst its banks, leaving homes, businesses and cars underwater.
Pictures from the town showed rescue crews using boats to help people out of flooded homes.
And Enniscorthy grandmother Elaine Grant told of her fear as waters entered her family’s home this morning.
She said her family, including her three-week-old grandson, were “completely trapped in” their home by flooding at around 5am.
Elaine revealed how the water levels “kept rising and rising and rising” from ground floor level up to the first floor.
They then got a call from Slaney Rescue saying a boat was being sent over.
Ms Grant said the baby was taken from the home in his car chair — and slept through the whole ordeal.
She told RTE: “He was OK, but it was his mam and dad. It was just petrifying. The two guys with Slaney Rescue, the current was going against them. It was scary.
“It just needs to be highlighted, anything could have happened in that river. Lives could have been lost in that river today.
“It is ridiculous how the Government haven’t done anything about this. It’s crazy.”
It is ridiculous how the Government haven’t done anything about this. It’s crazyElaine Grant
Labour TD George Lawlor claimed that the flooding was the result of years of neglect by Fine Gael and Fianna Fail.
Parts of the M50 motorway in Dublin were closed as flood water pooled across several lanes, leading to hours of traffic delays during the morning rush.
Met Eireann forecaster Linda Hughes said rivers were reaching bank full by Monday and the added rainfall earlier today “tipped it over the edge” — warning of further flooding in days to come.
She revealed that Met Eireann’s Johnstown Castle weather station in Co Wexford had recorded rainfall for 15 days in a row.
Ms Hughes told RTE’s Drivetime: “We’ve had significant amounts of rainfall, particularly over the last week.
“So flooding was expected with that additional rainfall overnight. It has just been raining continuously.
“It has just been a steady accumulation of rain over a prolonged period of time.
“Some rivers (that are) quicker to respond such as the River Dodder in Dublin are receding, but we could still see further flooding over even the coming days.”
‘STILL NOT OVER THE WORST OF IT’
She added: “We are still not over the worst of it.
“There will be some more rainfall. The ground is saturated, there is nowhere for the rain to go. Any further rainfall on top of what we had could cause further issues.”
Carlow Weather’s Alan O’Reilly has issued a fresh call for Ireland’s flood forecasting system to go live, and the flood warnings to be shared to the public.
He said: “I’ve been calling for the flood forecast system to be made live and public and the flood warnings to be shared to the public.
‘WEATHER WARNINGS NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE’
“A rainfall warning is absolutely useless when it comes to flooding because it doesn’t take into account how high the rivers are or how much rain has fallen and that’s why there was only yellow rainfall warnings for some counties and Dublin didn’t even have a rainfall warning.
“Very very bad in terms of forecasting for flooding.
“We need that flood forecasting system because the weather warnings are not fit for purpose when it comes to flooding.”
Up to 20,000 homes, farms and businesses were left without power at one point, primarily in the east, though this had reduced to 2,500 as of 5.15pm tonight, ESB Networks confirmed.
‘EXTREMELY DANGEROUS’
A spokesperson warned that those who come across downed or damaged electricity wires should not touch them as they can be “extremely dangerous”.
In the north, more than 300 schools were closed, while Dublin Airport said that 20 flights had been cancelled by airlines as of 3pm this afternoon. At least 30 flights at Belfast City Airport were also cancelled.
And Dublin Fire Brigade said it had responded to a number of flooding incidents in the capital.
It said that four people were taken to safety on Dodder Park Road by trained firefighters using an inflatable sled. Some 30mm of rain was recorded in the Phoenix Park overnight.
Amid the poor weather in Dublin, a woman in her 60s died after a truck hit her in Swords in the north of the county shortly before 12.30pm today.
The incident took place at the junction of Church Road and Bridge Street and the pedestrian was pronounced dead at the scene.
Her body was taken to Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown, where a post-mortem examination will be carried out.
Gardai are appealing for witnesses and, in particular, they are seeking the assistance of the driver of a small, silver hatchback car that was not involved in the collision but was travelling behind the truck at the time.
DISRUPTIONS AND DIVERSIONS
Elsewhere, in Dundalk, Co Louth, firefighters rescued two crew members of an ambulance which was stuck in floodwater under the Castletown Road railway bridge at around 6am.
Some roads in Co Monaghan partially collapsed due to being flooded, Monaghan County Council said, leading to closures and diversions.
Iarnrod Eireann confirmed there were disruptions to Dart services, and a number of ferry sailings were cancelled between Dublin and Holyhead.
Some residents in Kiltiernan, south Dublin, were left homeless after water reached the windows of a new housing development.
‘DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO’
Eight houses in Cookstown Lane, just off the Enniskerry Road saw extreme flooding after a mountain stream burst its banks.
Resident Amy Cullen told RTE: “The alarm went off this morning, 4am. We thought it was just the weather. We got up this morning, the kids usually run down.
“Thank God they didn’t, because if they would have, the little fellows would have drowned.
“I don’t even think it’s hit me yet. I don’t know what to do. We’re just trying to just get our head around it at the moment.
‘ABSOLUTELY DEVASTATED’
“We just picked up everything that we could save and threw it up as far as we could this morning. Everything’s just destroyed on us.
“We’re just devastated, absolutely devastated.
“I’ve saved up for ages to buy all my new furniture just before Christmas, and new floors, and it’s just gone.”
The poor weather in Northern Ireland was expected to continue into tomorrow morning, with the Met Office issuing a Status Yellow warning for ice for the whole region between 3am and 10am.
‘FLOODING WILL PERSIST IN SOME REGIONS’
However, there are no warnings in place for the Republic from Met Eireann, which has forecast “bright or sunny spells with some showers, these most frequent in the south and west” for tomorrow.
The meteorological service added: “There’ll be a fair amount of dry weather in the east and north.
“However, high river levels and flooding will persist in some regions. Highest temperatures of 7°C to 10°C with moderate to fresh south-easterly winds.”
Meanwhile, Taoiseach Micheal Martin said the Government will make payments and supports available immediately to households and businesses affected by Chandra.
TEAMS ‘ON THE GROUND’
Speaking in the Dail today, he added: “Dublin, Wicklow, Wexford and Cork were significantly impacted, but it is fair to say that flooding impacts are all across the country.
“Bunclody and Enniscorthy in particular have experienced severe flooding to homes and businesses.
“Local authority teams are on the ground assisting. The Department of Social Protection will assist on the ground with households affected by flooding, and provide immediate needs payments and other supports where required.
“The Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment will activate the business and community support scheme.”
