Poor emergency planning exacerbated flood damage

"I have never seen anything like it before," said Michelle Moran, a young resident of Cork. Just seven days ago, the ground floor of Moran's house on the Western Road was under approximately a metre of water. Since then, the waters have receded but for many throughout the country the situation remains extremely serious. This past week saw Ireland's worst weather in decades devastate large parts of the country, particularly in the south and west.

In Galway, the level of flooding remains severe today with acres of farmland and towns and villages throughout the county still underwater. Cork City, meanwhile, has re-opened for business but the clean up operation continues in certain areas and is expected to cost millions of euro. Throughout the south and west, houses lay ruined, businesses remain shut and in the worst affected regions there remains a palpable atmosphere of shock at the swift and merciless devastation.

Given the force and unpredictability of weather it is crucial that local authorities have organised and specific emergency plans in place. However, many feel that local councils were not sufficiently prepared for the onslaught and that not enough money was invested in prevention measures.

"Back in 2004 the Flood Prevention Review Group criticised the government for spending a mere €20m on flood prevention measures in 2003 and stated that a spend of €300m was necessary. The following year the Government cut investment to €16m euro and the next year again to €14m," said Mick Barry, Socialist Party councillor for Cork North Central. The councils, on the other hand, feel sufficient measures were in place and Cork City Council in partcular will point to the speed and efficiency of the clean up operation.

Moran was generally happy with the help received by state authorities but did criticise the lack of proactivity. "As long as we're given warning...we can do something. The [emergency plans] are reactive, not proactive." She also felt the defence forces acted unprofessionally at times by driving too fast through floodwaters. "They were taking no care at all." She felt this carelessness directly caused damage to cars and property in her area.

The government, for their part, have pledged an intial €12m to the worst affected areas with €2m specifically set aside for the farming community. Taoiseach Brian Cowen has since stated that there will be further funding allocated as the scale of the problem becomes clearer. Given the level of destruction, however, this sum will have to increase significantly and the means tested nature of the funding has come under attack. "The funding needed to compensate for flood damage will be a significant multiple of this sum," said Barry.

Exacerbating the situation further is the fact that some homes and businesses have found their insurance did not cover the damage. With the failures of both the insurance companies and the government to provide compensation for flood victims it will be a long and difficult winter for many families and businesses throughout Ireland.

How was devastation on such a scale allowed to happen with so little warning? For Seamus Walsh of Met Eireann, it is difficult to say if global warming is a factor in the severe weather. "The rainfall levels are not unprecendented," stated Walsh. Indeed, it is difficult to gauge the impact of global warming over such a short timeframe. In short, the blame cannot be solely put upon climate change. Instead, questions will have to be asked of the government, the ESB and the relevant local authorities.

The ESB has come in for severe criticism, firstly for failing to drain water in Inniscarra dam in Cork before a crisis point was reached and, secondly, for failing to provide adequate warning when they eventually did so. The bad planning decisions of local authorities have also come under attack. For Walsh, it is important to move properties outside of flood plain areas to prevent this scale of damage from happening again. The final scale of the damage is as yet unclear. What is clear, however, is that many devastated homes will find the upcoming holidays a severe struggle. For some, neither the government nor the insurance companies will lend a hand, leaving them very much on their own.

Local authorities must ask severe questions of themselves after this fiasco and it is clear that, across the country, dedicated and specific provision must be made for the increasingly unpredictable moods of Mother Nature.