Storm Babet: Cork towns 'impassable' with €6m funding sought for damage repairs
On Cummins Waters Rutland Larry Picture: Street, Cork Flood City
The Government is to provide funding to help those impacted by severe flooding in Cork.
Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe has said there is always funding made available to support households and businesses that experience this level of damage to their homes and businesses caused by flooding.
Both the city and county saw severe flooding due to torrential rain brought by Storm Babet. Parts of the county, including Glanmire and Midleton have been deemed "impassable".
Blackpool village has since been reopened following works carried out by Cork city council operation crews.
A status orange rain warning that was in effect for all of Cork and Kerry ended at 1pm. Some local Met Éireann weather stations in Cork have recorded 115mm of rainfall over the last 24 hours.
Dublin, Wexford and Wicklow have been placed under a yellow warning for rain as Met Éireann say heavy rain is expected overnight and for a time on Thursday morning.
The warning will stay in place until 5 am.
Mr Donohoe said the support will be granted through either the local authorities in Cork or directly from the Government.
He told the : “When we've dealt with other flooding incidents over the last year or so additional funding has been made available to support those who are affected.
“And we always make provision for this in the annual budget and in the funding that's available to government departments and obviously it would be no different for this flood and for those who are affected by it.”
Cork South West Senator Tim Lombard has said millions of euros will be required to support residents and businesses.
The Fine Gael politician said €6m was made available to Cork in 2020 following the impact of flooding from Storm Francis but more will be required as a result of the “carnage” caused by Storm Babet.
“A significant funding package needs to be made available to Cork County Council and will need to be in excess of €6m to repair the damage caused,” he told the .
“Humanitarian assistance needs to be announced as a matter of urgency for residents and also for sporting clubs and businesses that have been significantly damaged by unprecedented floods.”
Cork City Council said that as of 5 pm on Wednesday, Blackpool Village and Glanmire Village were impassable.
As of 6.45 pm, Blackpool village has since reopened.
A statement said that many roads remain flooded in Ballyvolane, Rochestown, Blarney, and Tower with several roads impassable.
A number of roads will remain closed overnight due to flooding including the R579, the Lee Road, Centre Park and Monaghan Roads. Cork City Council said its crews will review the roads again on Thursday morning.
Earlier, flooding had been reported on South Terrace and adjoining streets amongst other city centre areas.
The council said in a statement: "Rainfall is expected to ease off this evening but there is still a significant amount of water in the river network, so it may be a number of hours before roads clear," the council said.
"Motorists are asked to avoid unnecessary travel, and if you must travel, please proceed with caution and follow any diversions that may be in place on your normal route. Reports have come in of motorists ignoring road closure signs in the city. Our emergency services, including the civil defence, are working at full capacity to respond to calls as they arise, please do not ignore signage and enter heavily flooded roads."
This is up.the Road from me near Inch in east cork. pic.twitter.com/J6bsxoQssY
— Maurice O' Mahony (@Mossyom1) October 18, 2023
In Mayfield, St Killian's School closed for the day and sent students home because roads in the school's vicinity had become impassable.
Cork County Council meanwhile has urged people to avoid travel to Midleton due to the flooding in the town. The Defence Forces are being deployed to parts of Cork that have been inundated by severe flood waters.
Elsewhere, a number of people have had to be evacuated from cars this morning due to the flooding.
A spokesperson for Cork City Fire Brigade told the that its personnel had to remove a number of people who had become trapped in their vehicles by rising floodwaters on the Rochestown Road, near the Cinnamon Cottage cafe.
Though the exact number was not confirmed, it is understood that all were safely evacuated.
Cork County Council meanwhile said that it responded to 106 incidents between 5pm on Tuesday and 9am on Wednesday, with Cork County Fire Service responding to over 30 additional calls.
The council says the number of calls made to it within this period of time is "reflective of the widespread and severe nature of this weather event."
In an update on Wednesday evening, the council said that Midleton town is "currently impassable" with over 100 properties flooded.
The Army and Civil Defence forces are currently on site in Midleton and are supporting evacuation measures.
A coordination centre in Midleton Fire Station has been established to organise arrangements while a rest centre has been set up in Midleton Community Centre to facilitate people who require evacuation.
The Council also said it is aware of the flooding of properties in Whitegate, Rathcormac, Glandore, Ringaskiddy, Carrigaline, Raffeen, Halfway and Casteltownbere.
A number of roads have been impact with rolling closures.
The N71 is closed at Rosscarbery with diversions through the town as well as at Innishannon with reports of spot flooding at the Halfway roundabout. Traffic will be diverted via Crossbarry.
Meanwhile, the R610 in Carrigaline is virtually impassable.
On Wednesday night, Castlemartyr village was reported to be impassable as a result of the River Kiltha bursting its banks.
On Wednesday afternoon, the council urged the public to avoid travelling to Midleton as floods have badly hit the town.
Earlier this morning, flooding was also reported in Cobh, Passage West, Rathcormac, and along the Killarney Road in Mallow.
Footage on social media also showed very heavy flooding on Chestnut Drive in Youghal.
Scenes in Chessnut Drive in Youghal this morning. Emergency services are on scene. Take care on approach. #StormBabet pic.twitter.com/6r7rtGmrL8
— Cork Safety Alerts (@CorkSafetyAlert) October 18, 2023
"Significant rainfall has led to localised and spot flooding impacting the road network across the county resulting in many parts of the road network closing throughout the day," a council spokesperson said.
A council spokesperson said its severe weather assessment team convened again this morning in relation to the effects of Storm Babet, and that crews and contractors have been in operation this morning "assisting road users, homes and businesses and are operating in very challenging conditions."
The spokesperson also said that pumping arrangements and the removal of debris from grates and culverts are continuing across the county.
"Cork County Council continues inspections and emergency repair works on the roads most severely impacted across the region, having also commenced the considerable clean-up programme that lies ahead," the spokesperson added.
"Again, motorists are asked to be aware of the impact on the road network with damage expected as a result of standing water."
The Lord Mayor of County Cork is advising people to avoid unnecessary travel and to take extreme care "if you set off on a journey and please think of vulnerable road users, especially pedestrians and cyclists."
In a statement on Wednesday afternoon, Councillor Frank O'Flynn said the orange rainfall warning has "resulted in a month's worth of rain falling in just 24 hours."
"This is on top of already saturated lands and high river levels. It is evidence, if any were needed, of our changing climate and the issues that it presents.
"I am especially conscious of the advanced preparations that were undertaken by Cork County Council in mitigating the effects of this event and how, despite every effort, homes, businesses and road users have been impacted," he added.
Mr O'Flynn also said that the results of this weather event will be felt long after as they move towards a clean-up phase.
Rail services between Cork and Cobh, and between Cork and Midleton have been suspended since 11.20am due to flooding on the line.
A spokesperson for Ianród Éireann said a limited bus transfer service is operating between Cork and Cobh. However, they said it is "not in a position to operate a bus transfer to/from Midleton due to flooding on the roads in the Midleton area."
Passengers are reminded that services are currently suspended between Cork Kent and Cobh/Midleton. Bus transfers are in operation on the Cork commuter network.
— Iarnród Éireann (@IrishRail) October 18, 2023
Bus transfers are not possible at present to Glounthaune or Midleton due to road flooding pic.twitter.com/EKywSV7929
Due to Storm Babet, Bus Éireann services in Cork and the Southeast region are experiencing some service disruptions and diversions.
The 226X serving Kinsale and MTU has been cancelled and the 226 is unable to serve Kinsale with services only operating to and from Cork Airport.
The 220 and 220X routes are terminating at the Carrigaline Care Centre until further notice due to the closure of Crosshaven Road.
Route 239 will start at Bandon and will not service Timoleague, Courtmacsherry and Butlerstown due to flooding.
In Cork city, the 214 service is only operating from Kent Station to CUH and is "unable to serve Glanmire" due to the flooding of Glanmire village.
The 215 service will not be serving Blackpool village or Kileens due to flooding.
The Expressway Route 40 is currently suspended between Cork and Waterford due to severe flooding on the route.
Route 260 (Cork to Midleton) and route 261 (Cork to Youghal) have also been affected due to flooding in Midleton and Ballinacurra.
In Kerry, the Local Coordination Group, consisting of senior management of Kerry County Council, gardaí, HSE, Kerry Fire Service, and Kerry Civil Defence, met on Tuesday morning to coordinate a response to the orange warning. The group says it will continue to monitor the situation until the warning lifts this afternoon.
Over 1,600 homes and businesses in Kerry are without power this morning.
In Waterford, council ground crews and Waterford Fire Service are at "multiple sites dealing with flooding issues."
In an update on Wednesday afternoon, a spokesperson for Waterford City and County Council said many roads in West Waterford are experiencing "significant flooding" including the N25 and N72.
"Lismore, Tallow, Clashmore, Aglish, Ballyduff Upper and the adjoining hinterlands are experiencing continuing heavy rainfall," the spokesperson said.
"This is expected to lead to significant volumes of surface water run-off, coinciding with high tide on the River Blackwater at around 8pm this evening."
On Wednesday, flooding has already been reported at:
- The L2017 from Cappoquin to the junction with the R671 Clashmore at Kilmolash;
- The R672 Clonmel road and Master Mcgrath junction along the N72;
- The L3002 Ballyneety Road to Kilgobne;
- The N25 Youghal to Dungarvan, also the L-2020 Ballyneety Road;
- The N72 between Lismore and Tallow and Tallow to the Middleton Road;
- The N25 Youghal to Dungarvan;
- The R671 between Ballinameela and Aglish.
- The L7201 Glendalligan Road
- And the N25 Eastbound hard shoulder from Dalton's Cross to Downey's Cross
The N25 at Ticknock is also currently flooded but passable.
The L-2020 Bog Road is also flooded from the Spring Roundabout on the N25 Spring Roundabout to Luskanargid.
Waterford City and County Council are advising extreme caution, to avoid all unnecessary journeys and to avoid the areas if possible.
Those who are planning to travel are being urged to use an alternative route and to allow extra time for journeys as "driving conditions are expected to deteriorate throughout the course of the day."
Outbreaks of heavy rain today with some flooding likely🌧️
— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) October 18, 2023
Rain will be especially heavy in southern coastal counties during the morning with a heightened risk of flooding & disruption there🌊⚠️
Highest temps of 12 to 16 C, in a moderate to fresh & gusty east to southeast wind🌡️ pic.twitter.com/KMOPtvbkA8
According to Met Éireann, outbreaks of especially heavy rain will continue on Wednesday, with strong gusty east to southeast winds and with a heightened risk of flooding and disruption likely in southern coastal counties. Motorists are also likely to encounter poor visibility and hazardous driving conditions across the affected counties until the warning lifts.
Leinster, Cavan, Donegal, and Monaghan remain under a yellow rain warning which will lift at 8pm on Wednesday.
Met Éireann meteorologist Gerry Murphy said until the first of the warnings lapse on Wednesday afternoon, people can expect continuous and heavy rainfall.
"It is going to be very wet everywhere and certainly over the next 24 hours, Kerry, Cork and Waterford getting the heaviest falls," he said on Tuesday.
Highest temperatures on Wednesday will range between 12C and 16C, falling back to between 8C and 11C by tonight.
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