Cork council says flood emergency plan still incomplete over a year after Storm Babet
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Cork County Council has confirmed it still does not have a finished flood emergency plan more than a year after the county bore the brunt of Storm Babet.
The council has repeatedly promised the plan would be made public but has now said it is still at a draft stage. It could be weeks or months into winter before it is completed.
The same goes for a series of localized flood response plans across the county. A draft plan for Midleton, which was the town worst hit by last October’s Storm Babet, is also only just being finalized.
But even when the plans are finished, the council warned they will “not include information or guidance for individual home or business owners”. Instead, it said: “The focus of the plans is to guide and direct the response of the principal response agency in terms of emergency co-ordination.”
Storm Babet caused millions of euro worth of damage in Midleton a year ago, with parts of the busy east Cork town submerged under water by the “biblical floods”.
An estimated 500 homes were impacted, with the town’s main road being left under a metre of water as the town itself saw roads in and out of the area impassable after the Owenacurra River burst its banks.
Residents and businesses alike have since been asking for clarity on what the county council is going to do should Midleton be struck by another Storm Babet. Promises that a plan would be made available have been made repeatedly, but none has been published yet.
Local TD James O'Connor said: "Midleton needs to see this plan, especially as there is so much fear around flooding among residents and businesses. It needs to be made public and it needs to be signed off on before we get into winter."
Local Social Democrat councillor Liam Quaide said: "I was informed by the Council Executive at a meeting on September 9 that both the county-wide Major Emergency Response Plan and the Local Flood Action Plan, with specific protocols for East Cork, would be published shortly.
“It beggars belief that we are now over a year on from the 2023 flood event, and residents remain in the dark about basic aspects of an emergency response, such as where sandbag-filling machines would be located in the event of another serious flood."
He added: “In October 2023, areas such as Mogeely relied heavily on voluntary groups for support as the efforts of statutory agencies were concentrated in Midleton.
“It's perplexing that we are nearly now in the month of November 2024 and we seem to have a similar lack of preparedness in certain respects, and no clarity for the public on lessons learned from last year's flood event."
Caroline Leahy, of the Midleton and East Cork Flood Action Group, told the : “We do not know what is contained within this plan.
“We would, however, like to see community emergency response elements contained in it, like sandbag availability in a few different depots, first aid, dehumidifiers, drinking water, food, (and) cleaning products.
“In October 2023, a local charity stepped in to be a crisis centre and co-ordinated volunteers and donations.
“Information around this, at the time, travelled through word of mouth and we believe it should be part of the emergency response plan."
A Humanitarian Assistance Scheme administered by the Department of Social Protection was put in place after Storm Babet hit that has since helped more than 400 households in Midleton, at a cost of €2.8m.
The Emergency Flood Relief Fund and Enhanced Flood Relief Fund, for businesses hit by the storm, paid out around €9.28m to 266 businesses, most of which were in Midleton.
Further fundings for those hit by last year’s floods was announced earlier this month by Cork County Council and the Office of Public Works (OPW).
This is via the €5.8m Midleton and East Cork Individual Property Protection Scheme, which opened for applications on October 7.
Money available from the scheme will help pay for measures such as flood gates to mitigate the risk associated with the entry of flood waters through doors or other openings.