'Prisoners in our own homes'

The worst of the flooding may yet not be over as Met Éireann has issued a 'status yellow' weather warning for the weekend; while some Cavan residents say they remain 'prisoners' in their own homes.

Met Éireann is forecasting a further 100 mm of rain with areas in Munster, Connacht and Leinster worst affected. Meteorologist Evelyn Cusack has said that there is a real possibility of a 'status orange alert' being issued for the west.

The OPW warned yesterday that the Shannon is expected to rise further. Defence Forces personnel are on standby with water levels expected to continue rising until Monday or Tuesday.

In the Cavan Town area, townlands most affected are around Farnham, Derrywinny, Drumard, Derryniggan and Innishconnell; while incidents of roads being cut off and homes under threat from deluges have been reported across the county.
The road into Swanlinbar was flooded on Saturday, with roads in Cootehill, Mountain Lodge and Bailieborough also blocked by water.

Fatality
The first fatality of the winter storms was counted in neighbouring Monaghan where the body of 70-year-old Ivan Vaughan from Co Tyrone was recovered near Glaslough. It’s believed he was swept away after his car got trapped by flood waters.
In the past month, water level readings at Derryheen Bridge near Killykeen witnessed an almost 2.5 metre rise to just under 4m last Tuesday morning.

Cavan County Council issued the following statement this week in relation to its response to the flooding:

“The heavy rain of recent weeks and Storm Desmond on Saturday last has led to numerous flooding events across the county. Where the flooding has led to roads becoming dangerous or impassable, Cavan County Council has deployed crews, as an emergency response, to try to release water or sign diversionary routes.
“Cavan Fire Services has been deployed in a similar manner. There is significant flooding throughout the county but areas adjacent to Lough Oughter, River Erne and Annalee River are most at risk. Cavan County Council are supporting local residents where manpower exist and resources allow. It is not envisaged to call in the Defence Forces at this point in time. “The Office of Public Works (OPW) are the agency responsible for the management of the river systems in Ireland. The OPW are currently assessing the flooding risks in the River Erne catchment but limited relief works have been carried out in Cavan to date.
“Since 2006, despite limited resources, Cavan County Council has made improvements to many local roads that were deemed at risk and below flood levels. Cavan County Council will continue to work with the OPW and seek funding to further alleviate the flooding issues in County Cavan.”

'Prisoners in our own homes'

The Celt travelled to the home of Mina Woodhouse on the Drumard Road on Monday of this week to see how residents were faring with the flood waters there.

“Come in, come in. It’s lovely to have visitors from the mainland. I can offer you coffee, we’ve plenty of water,” laughs Mina . Her home, like others located on the Drumard Road are stranded, cut off by rising flood waters from the downfall brought by Storm Desmond.
With near record-breaking rainfall over the weekend, it’s almost six years to the date since Mina and her neighbours were last left marooned in similar extreme circumstances.
“We were stuck in the house for a month, we couldn’t get out,” says Mina, whose husband Cecil is wheelchair bound. In 2013, when the road was cut off again, neighbours used a tractor and link box to assist in transporting the couple to dryer land following a medical emergency. “We were trapped like rats and now we’re prisoners in our own homes all over again. It’s not good enough,” says Mina.

“It’s all back again and all too soon. But what can you do? If you don’t laugh you might cry,” Mina told The Anglo-Celt. She and Cecil remain indebted to the generosity and kindness of neighbours who have rallied to help them and others in the area.
A boat is currently moored at the point where the road has become impassible, while local man Anthony Clail says he is helping neighbours “prepare for the worst”.
Anthony, who lives beyond the flood waters, has been busy using his van to ferry locals to their parked cars beyond the rising waters, as well as bringing supplies to those without. “It’s definitely up on 2009, no doubt about it, and it’s risen faster too. It won’t be long until I can’t even get through in my van. If we get rain again like we did the weekend, and the likes of what is forecast to come, life will be made very difficult for a lot more people,” he said.
The Council has, in recent years, carried out works on the Drumard Road to raise the surface level, but it hasn’t been enough to stem the tide of floodwaters from an overflowing River Erne and its tributaries.

'Too little too late’
Further down Drumard lives Suzie Brady, who lambasted the Council for their latest reaction to dealing with the flood problem.
“It’s too little too late. Now it’s flooded, they’ve sent out a big lorry to us. What good is that? How do they expect an 80-year-old to get up into a big lorry like that? And go where?” she asked.
Ophthalmologist, Dr Richard O’Reagan told The Celt he is now considering leaving his home to reside nearer Cavan Town. “It’s either leave or be stuck. It’s fine here at the moment. I have electricity, I have food, I have the fire going, but I need to get in and get out. The real problem here is, but the ESB deny it, in Ballyshannon they’ve blocked the Erne.”
Closer to Cavan Town, John and Siobhan Campbell of Drumullan, along with their two young children, are also bracing themselves. Having seen flood waters penetrate their home in 2009, they were left with a trail of devastation that took months and tens of thousands of euro to fix.
“All the houses in this area flooded at that time. There was a foot and a half of water inside the kitchen,” says school teacher Siobhan. “We had to move out for about seven months until things were fixed,” she added.
John, who works in the local Post Office, says despite attempts to flood-proof their home since, they still can’t get insurance.
“When it happened last time, we were told to wait for five years. Then, if there was no flooding, we could get insurance. We did that but still no one will insure us. They’ve obviously designated it as a flood area,” he surmised.
It’s not yet known whether the Government plans to spend €430m on flood defences by 2021 will include vulnerable areas in County Cavan. Since 2009, just €183,000 in flood defence funding has been drawn down by the local authority and nothing since 2013, the lowest of any county in the country. For now, John like others in the area has sandbagged the entrance to their home and he questions how, when the couple first built their home, they got planning permission for the project given the area’s propensity to flood. “Surely to God the council had to know something!” He adds that once floodwaters rise “there’s no stopping it. What can you do? I’ve been pumping water all day but really all I’m doing is moving from one place to another and it’s still coming back. We now just wait and see and cross our fingers it won’t get any worse,” he says.