Storms Trail of Havoc Grows Longer

Storms Trail of Havoc Grows Longer

30 Dec 1978

Storms’ Trail of Havoc Grows Longer
STORMS continued to create havoc yesterday, particularly in the east of the country. Houses were flooded when the Poddle river burst its banks at Templeogue, Co. Dublin, and in Bray and Wicklow town where high seas were responsible for damage to homes.

A Meteorological Office spokesman said yesterday that the storms would gradually lessen today and tomorrow. Train services were also severely affected by flooded lines, and telephones and electricity supplies were hit in some parts of the country. Train services between Belfast and Dublin were also disrupted yesterday. Flooding on the line at Scarva resulted in the service being suspended and passengers were ferried by bus between Dundalk and Portadown. The Rosslare-Dublin train service was also disrupted at Ballygannon, south of Greystones, by floods. Passengers were brought by bus from. Dublin to Arklow after trains from Dublin were cancelled. Telephone services were also badly affected, particularly in North Co. (Dublin, and in some areas repair work cannot be started until the water subsides. Services to Britain were also affected for a period due to a fault in London but were later restored. There were also floods at Clonsilla village, on the Navan road, outside Blanchardstown, and at the Ward road, between Mulhuddart and the Ashbourne road. Houses on the Ailesbury Estate in Tallaght were also flooded and Gardai diverted traffic. The fire brigade in Bray were almost powerless in the face of massive seas which broke over the Esplanade and swept into houses along Fitzwilliam Terrace, including the Fitzwilliam Nursing Home. “We can’t pump back the tide. We need King Canute here. All we can do is try to minimise the damage by using sandbags,” a spokesman said.

Spectacular seas also broke over the sea-wall along the south Dublin coast at Williamstown, Blackrock and Seapoint.

A CIE spokesman said the line “looks like a canal” and all services were stopped from 10 a.m. onwards as the flooding increased when the tide rose.

One train was stuck in Blackrock station but as the waves broke as high as 30 foot over the public baths the train was backed up towards the city to avoid damage.

The sea was hitting cars about 30 yards inland from the shore near Blackrock and lumps of driftwood were thrown ashore by the waves. I was afraid that the house would be flooded. There wax three feet of water behind a wall at the back of the house.” Mr. Peter Smith, a native of Co. Cavan, and his wife Kathleen, from Co. Carlow, who have been living at Osprey Drive for three years, were prepared for the flood, the third in the past few weeks. “We took up our carpels on December 8 because of the floods here. Many people with young families left their houses today because the electricity was off and because of the water in the houses,” MK. Smith said. “We have a dipstick to put down through the floorboards in our front room to see how high the water is underneath.” Mrs. Smith added. Mrs. Smith said that nobody was available last Saturday when people tried to contact the County Council Emergency Services when they feared floods which have only affected the houses this winter.

“Our neighbour loosened his carpets on Saturday but when the floods did not come he did not take them up. He slept in this morning and when he came down the carpets were floating about in the house.” Mr. Smith said.

“The water came into our house although we had the bags against the doors since Saturday. It just came up underneath,” he added.

Councillor Sean Walsh, TD, said that many residents blamed the flooding on the diversion of the river Poddle but he thought that a culvert at Willington Lane was insufficient to drain the flood waters from the large new housing estates. He said the County Council services were under * great pressure because of the flooding in the county, TD, was also at the scene last night, and he said that he had to contact the Army to get sandbags to protect some oi the houses. The Army supplied the bags and the County Council filled them with sand and brought them to the estate.

A JCB was being used last night to deliver sandbags to some of the houses as water was being pumped away from the flooded streets in darkness.

Mr. McMahon said that the County Manager had succeeded in setting up a temporary emergency service for the area under an Administrative Officer of the Council, Mr. Dan O’Sullivan. The County Council is to make an investigation into the cause of the flooding.

View News Article Online