Angry townspeople in Skibbereen demand answers after Storm Ellen swamps properties and businesses
Devastated hotel manager Louise O'Donovan described how a tsunami burst into her busy hotel as Storm Ellen wreaked havoc.
The deluge, which was over three feet high, swept through Skibereen’s Eldon Hotel just as customers were finishing their meals in the restaurant.
The first she knew there was a problem was when her mother Eileen screamed for help.
“We all rushed out to reception only to see the water gushing in,” Louise recalled.
“We all ran around grabbing duvets from rooms and cushions and pieces of furniture to try and stop the water but it was no use.
“It swept through the hotel, bringing with it a lot of mud and the place is destroyed.”
She is furious that it happened.
“What happened last night has more to do with drains not being cleared,” she said.
“The county council turned up at 12.45[am] with crates of sandbags, but they were too late.
“The damage had been done.
“They should have been there during the day."
She also told how her father helped fire brigade crews frantically try to unblock a storm drain outside the front of the hotel.
Had there been access to it in time, the floodwater would not have gone into the hotel, she maintains.
“I’m sick of this,” she added.
“What is going on is outrageous.
“It’s happened before and they should have known what to do.
“They’ve known all about the storm for days, but then business like ours ended up where we have ended up.”
One of the issues was a build-up of dirt in one of the chambers of a nearby culvert on the junction of Bridge Street, where the hotel is, and Rossa Road, known locally as the cuttings.
The chamber was supposed to have been cleared some time ago, and many locals wonder why council workers hadn’t cleared it in advance of the storm.
An OPW spokesperson said: “Very heavy rainfall/runoff swelled a minor watercourse and water was not able to be conveyed through a culvert connecting the watercourse to the main town sewer.
“There may have been a partial blockage at the entrance to the culvert.
“The flood risk at this location is being addressed by Cork County Council who applied for and received funding through the OPW's Minor Works scheme to undertake works.”
Fine Gael Senator Tim Lombard referred to a grate, the installation of which was delayed due to Covid despite being a piece of vital infrastructure.
It is being installed today but Senator Lombard said there needed to be an explanation as to why it was not in place before the storm hit.
"The grate was ready to be installed and it is unacceptable that these emergency works are being carried out in such a reactive emergency way when the damage has been caused," he said.
"This grate not being in place has led to drains and culverts being in place.
"There is a duty of care to homeowners and businesses in Skibbereen to have cleared culverts and drains.
"The reason this was done according to my face-to-face conversation with Cork County Council divisional manager and assistant county manager Clodagh Henehan was Covid.
"This is not acceptable as government directives at the beginning of lockdown was that vital infrastructure works such as water and power could continue.
"Protocol all needs serious examining. With red alert council staff could not mobilise yet private contractors were on site in Skibbereen last night.
"I am calling on the Minister for Local Government needs to carry a full independent investigation which needs to be published."