Army drafted in to help f looded town amid anger at local council’s response

THE Army was drafted in to assist in the clean-up effort of a Co. Laois town yesterday where more than 40 homes were flooded after a number of local rivers burst their banks.

But there was anger at the response by the local council after water levels rose by two metres over the course one in Mountmellick, following a sixhour downpour on Wednesday.

Members of the Defence Forces came to assist the fire and emergency services in evacuating residents from their homes after the banks of three rivers burst.

Many homes in the area along the Manor Road were flooded and a number of roads remained impassable yesterday.

On Wednesday, members of the Civil Defence evacuated as a precautionary measure a number of homes that were being flooded.

In a statement, a spokesman for Laois County Council said cleanup efforts would continue throughout the day yesterday, with sandbags being issued to prevent further flooding.

They added that families whose homes had been flooded had been provided with emergency accommodation and advised motorists to drive with caution in the area.

Mountmellick local man Fergal McGurk said the response from the local council on Wednesday was poor.

‘There was no preparedness from the local council,’ he told the Irish Daily Mail.

‘They know this area is prone to flooding, the rivers are not even getting dredged.

‘There’s nothing being done, sandbags weren’t available on Wednesday.

‘The council weren’t around yesterday, my brother gathered up all of the sandbags, other than that I wouldn’t have had any.

‘They haven’t come out today either,’ he said yesterday.

Mr McGurk’s home was flooded and his recently landscaped back garden was submerged in two feet of water.

‘It was right up on to the patio. The rest of the yard was fine and in the space of a half an hour the whole place was covered,’ he explained.

‘All the floors are destroyed, the furnishings,’ he continued.

‘There’s two foot of water there on the lawns and it came up to the bottom of the plinth. There was no way of escaping it.

‘I only got the landscaping done there in September – now it’s washed away – what can I do?

‘Start again? start from scratch? It’s certainly a shock and so close to Christmas, just when you’re trying to get things in order. No one in the town escaped it this time.’

Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan paid a visit to his Mountmellick where his constituency office is based, accompanied by junior minister Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran, to survey the damage.

And in a statement yesterday, President Michael D Higgins praised rescue efforts, remarking: ‘As President of Ireland I would like to express my deepest concern and sympathy for all those who have been affected by the recent flooding, and in particular the people of Mountmellick.

‘This will be a devastating experience for them, and I want to thank all those in the state, local authority and voluntary sectors who are coming to their assistance.’

And Mr Higgins concluded: ‘On days like today the thoughts of all of us should be with the families affected.’

The Humanitarian Assistance Scheme will be made available for locals whose homes have been destroyed in the flooding the Department of Social Protection said yesterday.