Family feels ‘embattled in own home’ due to flooding threat

A Cork father whose home was destroyed by flooding said the constant threat of rising rainfall is affecting his mental health.

Alan Mahy is now constantly monitoring the weather forecasts and has called on Met Éireann to issue flood warnings as well as wind and rain warnings in forecasts.

His calls come after the release of the first ever national climate change risk assessment by the Environmental Protection Agency, which says that the country is facing 'immediate critical risks from extreme weather events."

In recent months, the dad of four girls had to erect flood gates outside his home while celebrations were ongoing inside for his daughter's seventh birthday.

When Alan and his wife Orla moved to a detached home in Midleton in December 2021, they thought they had found their dream home, until Storm Babet hit in October 2023.

"I've become an unwilling amateur expert now at reading the river and river gauges," he said.

Before Babet, "I was on holidays when my neighbour rang to say that the river level was now higher than the bridge used by eleven homes on the lane. The same bridge collapsed under the force of the flood. Water was already in our home at this point, and it was too late to do anything.

"18 months after the flood, if water gets to our driveway, others know to start panicking.

"We are now the flood warning system for Midleton."

The family home was destroyed, with the ground floor under over three feet of water and the house was under-insured for what they lost.

"The kid's toys, floors, kitchen units, sofas, everything you can imagine was destroyed and we had to rent somewhere to live for almost four months while repairs were being carried out."

Early interim flood measures have been put in place by the local authorities, but Alan believes it could take up to ten years to fully implement the Midleton Flood Relief Scheme.

"About 1600 tonnes of gravel and stones that were raising the river levels were removed by the local council outside our home, and we are very grateful for that.

"In other parts of Midleton, there have been temporary flood defences put in place, in the form of large sandbags along the riverbank.

"But I firmly believe there should be a flood warning system like they have in the UK and other countries.

"A yellow rain alert might not seem a lot, but if it is on top of days and days of rainfall, then that yellow rain alert might be all that is needed to send the river into flood and threaten my home."

Alan its that the constant watching of rainfall measures has affected his mental health.

"We are trying to put on a brave face for our daughters. Every time there is heavy rain, they are asking if the house is going to be flooded again.

"It is obviously on their minds as well, and during the birthday party, I took the precaution of putting up sandbags and flood gates because I was worried about the heavy rainfall after four days of rain.

"Unfortunately, my prediction was right; the heavy rainfall over the previous week meant the river was too high to cope with the yellow warning for rainfall.

"In actual fact, the rain that fell that night wasn’t too much, but it was enough to raise the river level above the river bank. The county council came to our aid with sandbags.

"When the river breaks the banks and comes up the driveway, I have to move the cars to higher ground and be on alert all the time. We feel embattled in our own home.

"Carlow Weather, as far as I'm concerned, was the only forecaster to correctly predict how bad Babet would be. A few days in advance of Babet, he was warning East Cork for risk of bad floods – he was correct, and yet there were no actions taken by the authorities to prepare for the worst.

"Constantly watching the forecasts and monitoring the river levels is just exhausting, and it is no way for a family to live."

Alan O'Reilly from Carlow Weather has been consistent in his calls for a flood alert system in the country and sent his latest email to government ministers in January.

In the email, he says: "We are going to see more extreme weather in the coming years, especially flooding, and we still have no flood warning system or any real dedicated resources for weather event responses.

"We need far more weather stations recording data, especially rainfall data in the upland areas that feed the rivers."

Measures he has outlined include flood response teams as well as groups trained to assist ESB networks with power restoration in of clearing roads and trees and replacing poles.

He also called for military drones to be deployed after storms to map flooded areas, fallen power lines and blocked roads and feed information to local authorities and a dedicated national weather emergency app for real-time alerts and information on power outages, emergency hubs and road closures.

In a statement, Cork County Council say: "Regarding flood warnings, Cork County Council relies on Met Éireann forecasts and the National Directorate for Fire & Emergency Management (NDFEM).

"Locally, information received from Met Éireann and NDFEM is augmented by river gauge trends and reports from area engineers and considered by Cork County Council’s Severe Weather Assessment Team.

"The Severe Weather Assessment Team convenes as soon as a significant risk of severe weather becomes apparent and meets regularly thereafter at least until the risk has abated. The team advises and coordinates the relevant sections within Cork County Council regarding risk and response, including press releases and social media posts to help keep citizens informed."