Householders, owners of businesses and farmers in north Cork were yesterday counting the cost as heavy floodwaters from the Blackwater surged through towns and left thousands of acres of farmland submerged. Initial estimates suggest that the damage could cost several million pounds.
Mallow and Fermoy bore the brunt of the floods after the Blackwater burst its banks for much of its length.
In Mallow over 50 premises and homes were hit by rising floodwaters early yesterday morning. Householders in the Spa Walk area were among the worst hit as water entered their houses from both front and rear. Donna Currey, her partner, Barry Hyland, and their son, Aaron (6), were among those worst affected. Their home was first breached by water from the canal on Tuesday and then by floodwaters from the Blackwater early on yesterday morning.
"We went upstairs and watched it rise up against a brick wall at the back. It just kept on rising. We couldn't go to sleep, because we were afraid it wouldn't stop. Eventually it levelled off after about three feet", Ms Currey said.
Ms Rita Roche, a pensioner who lives alone, was philosophical about the floods. "They've been happening for hundreds of years. We're used to them at this stage and fortunately nobody was drowned", she said.
Bridge Street in Mallow remained closed as the Blackwater fanned out to almost three times its normal width from the point where it had burst its banks. Upstream, the upper half of a set of goalposts and the roof of a bus shelter provided the only evidence that the vast lake of water concealed several playing pitches as well as the park road, a vital link route through the town.
This area became the scene of a dramatic rescue bid at lunchtime yesterday when an elderly couple inadvertently drove into the flooded roadway only to find themselves being swept along by the fast-flowing current. Fortunately, two workmen trying to start a lorry spotted the couple and succeeded in attaching a rope to the car and tying it to a tree before alerting the emergency services, who completed the rescue.
Downstream, Fermoy too was suffering some of the worst effects of the flooding. The main bridge across the town, which carries the main Cork-Dublin road, was closed from early morning. As in Mallow, the Blackwater burst its banks in Fermoy, flooding both Ashe Quay and O'Neill Crowley Quay on the south of the town to a depth of three feet. However, Brian Boru Square and Rathealy Road on the north of the town suffered even worse flooding. Several shops and pubs in Brian Boru Square were flooded to a depth of almost four feet while over two dozen houses along Rathealy Road were similarly affected.
On nearby Ashe Quay the Grand Hotel closed its doors as the floodwater rose to almost three feet. One motorist who had parked in the area returned yesterday morning to find his car almost totally submerged as the river flowed over the quay wall.
Strong winds expected to return today: page 4
