'No amount of sandbags could have saved us' — Midleton locals hope the worst has passed

But while they were last night bracing themselves for what was to come overnight and today, there was a sense of optimism in the town that the latest weather yellow warning will not herald a repeat of the devastation Storm Babet brought last Wednesday.

Met Éireann issued a status yellow rain warning yesterday covering Cork, as well as Clare, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary and Galway, for a period of 24 hours.

The forecaster said heavy rain and thunder were expected, leading to localised flooding and difficult travel conditions.

Two things stood out when the Irish Examiner visited Main Street yesterday — sandbags in every doorway and skips every few 100 feet.

Aerial photographs taken by Guileen Coast Guard last Wednesday showed the sheer extent of the flooding, with almost the entire town affected.

Local TD James O’Connor had described the flash floods that had swept through the town as “biblical” while others said they had never seen the like in living memory.

It now appears that more than 600 homes and businesses have been flooded and seriously damaged in Middleton and surrounding villages when the storm hit.

Rivers of water tore through streets like the Mill Road in Midleton where parents had to wade through knee-high waters to rescue their children from local schools.

While local people have rallied around and helped with clearing damage and delivering supplies, many of the town’s residents are still left with the grim reality of what happened.

Eileen O’Connell, who runs the Midleton Hub charity, said: “Among the things people need are dehumidifiers.

“But those that don’t have them and live in houses that were flooded, they are having to dry their homes with open fires from their fire places.

“A number of private firms have been brilliant in providing their services and help for free, like with skip hire and local supermarkets have been donating cleaning products and food.

“Among the services that have been provided are also from a pest control company, because the waters rose up from the sewers and drains and as a result there has been an issue with rats.” 

One of the many businesses badly affected was Midleton Greenway Bikes and Bites, whose restaurant and bike hire shop in part of what is known locally as Cuddigans Yard, at the back of the Main Street.

Water up to five feet swept into the yard, quickly rushing into the business’ premises, which include furniture shops, a garage, a taxi firm and a car showroom.

“You try and put a brave face on everything, but at night you just wake up crying your eyes out,” Deirdre Roberts says, with a cheery smile.

As well as all the cars in the yard being destroyed, Deirdre and Fiona O’Driscoll, who run the bike hire shop, say they didn’t just lose their cars but their entire stock of electric bikes were also damaged, possibly beyond repair.

Deirdre met Tánaiste Micheal Martin as he toured the town on Saturday and while she didn’t want to reveal what was said, she said they had a “good chat”. She said: 

We don’t have flood insurance and as we owned all our bikes, and the other stock, we have suffered a huge hit.

“We desperately need to see what the government will announce now.

“Local people have really rallied around and that has really helped but without a serious amount of help, I don’t know what we will do.” She estimates the damage to her business to be at least €100,000.

Some residents yesterday criticised the lack of available sandbags for the town, but Deirdre wasn’t among them.

“No amount of sandbags could have saved us,” she said.

“We were in the front of the shop when the waters started coming in from the Main Street but no matter how many sandbags we put up, the door just burst open with the force of the water.” 

Coffee machines, a €25,000 ice cream machine, various types of fridge and coolers were among the equipment destroyed.

Two €1,000 smoothie makers and the till are among the only things that survived, because they were light enough to be put into the highest shelf.

All 60 of the adult bikes at the back were quickly under water and now have to be completely checked to determine their condition.

County councillor Danielle Twomey said that while people were bracing for more bad weather, they were hoping for the best that nothing would be as bad as last week’s deluge.

“It’s hard to tell but I don't think it's going to be a repeat of what we had,” she said.

“I was telling people just to be prepared, nonetheless. We have had more than 12,000 sandbags delivered by the council but we need more.

“Because of donations from local firms, we have lots of sand but no bags.” Asked what can people do to help, she added: “I would urge people to help by shopping in Midleton.

“It will be such a tremendous help, on top of the great support businesses have had, especially as businesses face Christmas in just a few weeks’ time.

“However the biggest thing right now will be clarity from the government about how much money is coming, where can people get it and how soon can they get it.”