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A MAJOR COMMUNITY clean-up involving emergency services and local residents continues in Listowel, Co Kerry today as the small town was hit by major flooding during Storm Bert on Saturday.
The River Feale, which runs through the town, burst its banks at Bridge Road following flooding on Saturday afternoon, forcing 70 homes and over 100 people to be evacuated.
A Status Yellow wind warning was in place in Kerry at the time, with Kerry County Council urging drivers to avoid Listowel for the day.
The main roads to Listowel town were closed for a time on Saturday afternoon, as workers from Kerry County Council and Kerry Fire Department pumped water from sections of the town closest to the River Feale where the river breached its banks.
The Meadows housing estate was one of the worst-hit areas - the Bridge Road location is surrounded on three sides by the River Feale, meaning the water quickly reached many of the houses in the estate after the river burst its banks.
Some residents were pulled to safety through the water by a tractor and trailer, while fire engines spent hours in Listowel attempting to decrease water levels.
The L6050 from Finuge Cross to Killocrim Cross will remain closed due to flooding at Finuge Bridge and is unlikely to reopen today.
Local Fine Gael Councillor Mike Kennelly told Radio Kerry that lessons need to be learned on what could have been done, adding that there needs to be “measures going forward to give people that little bit of faith going forward that it might not happen anymore”.
Local residents have stepped up and offered temporary accommodation, as well as clothes and toys, to the families worst affected by the flooding.
Speaking to Radio Kerry, Fianna Fáil councillor Jimmy Moloney said that the community rallying together during the crisis provided some silver lining to the flooding.
“If anything came out of the weekend, the response was just fantastic,” Moloney said. “Not because they were called out, they came because they wanted to help”.
According to Moloney, there was a record level of water measured in the River Feale over the weekend, with levels over 4 metres recorded during the peak of the flooding on Saturday.
“The highest previously had been 3.5 metres in 1973. It came on us all of a sudden, the rainfall on Friday night, the change in temperature and the snow that thawed out all contributed to it,” Moloney told Radio Kerry.
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Why were those houses ever built on what is clearly a flood plain?
@eoin fitzpatrick: You took the words from my mouth. The location of these houses is complete madness.
@eoin fitzpatrick: Brown bag. It is as simple as that. Greed and corruption are good in this country.
@eoin fitzpatrick: my first thought exactly, it’s only when you see an aerial shot like that you can clearly see nothing should ever have been built there
@eoin fitzpatrick: class action law suit incoming from those residents against planning authority.
@Shimo F: Against themselves maybe. They could clearly find out. Anyone buying a house that close to a river and at the same level of a river isn’t the brightest.
This is terrible news for all involved but is anybody asking “Stanley: New Homes”, who recently built The Meadows estate in question, why they built homes surrounded by The River Feale on 3 sides and didn’t disclose to residents that this land has always been a natural flood plain for the river? How often has it flooded like this in the past? Who approved the planning permission in the local authority? Was there a natura impact statement carried out as part of the planning process?
Housing crisis compounded by stupidity – yet again!
@Kieran Farrell: jesus, that’s shocking….when you say ‘recently built’…. like in the last decade??
@Kieran Farrell: Planning granted by the Local Authority for that was a flood plain, simple solution is to sue the Local Authority. This Local Authority don’t give local people planning permission on their own land with top notch sewage systems, yet they give a Developer planning for multiple Houses on a flood plain, same old ding dong in Ireland, it’s who you know & who you give your brown envelope to. The next Govt of FF & SF will bring this to another level again. Ireland is a failed State.
@Kieran Farrell: CORRECTION – The Meadows was built in 2006, and ‘Stanley: New Homes’ were not involved.
@Kieran Farrell: Fair enough! Thanks fir clarification
@SV3tN8M4: Virtually impossible to sue the local authority.
@Kieran Farrell: the flooding was described today as a once in 100 year event. The height of the river was measured at 4m on Saturday afternoon – the next highest ever recorded was 3.5m in 1973. I’m not sure that bad planning decisions is the cause this weekends flooding
Terrible, obviously condolences to everyone effected. Does the aerial view tell a story? Like why are so many housing estates within 100 yards of an oxbowing river? Seems mad, but I know little of geography or surveying land for development.
@Thesaltyurchin: ask the Healy Rae’s
@Temp Stuff: Healy rea’s aren’t from Listowel
I feel so sorry for those people.
Nothing worse than flooding and just before Xmas.
@Stanley Marsh: Christmas
The FG fella was straight out with the standard party line ‘ lessons will be learned’
But we have to help the rest of the world,that’s the most concerning thing for the politicians of Ireland. Never mind our own, especially the people of Listowel, Killybegs and the rest of the country affected by the detrimental weather. Shur here’s an idea, let’s just worry and support every swinging dog across the work’s who needs our generosity. Let’s give them money, refuge, support while our own have homes & businesses destroyed. Shur never mind, it’s only our country at the end of the day.
@Brian Barry: *Works =World.. Just in case ye lefty punctuation police come knocking!!
@Brian Barry: Eamon is on his way back from the annual jolly, COP where he signed us up as a donor for a 300Billion ( per annum) dollar windfall ….. You couldn’t make it up in a Hollywood comedy
Cost us 200million to build flood defences in 2 years time. Lot of money for incompetence in Kerry coco
Boom time building with ‘no holds barred’ planning permissions given to those who knew who to give the brown envelope to
A photo of houses built on a flood plain. Interesting planning.
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