Storm Bram surge ‘jumped two feet in 15 minutes’ flooding Louth street in an ‘instant’
The surge levels in Blackrock during Storm Bram jumped by two feet in just 15 minutes, and were much worse than predicted by Met Éireann, Louth councillors heard at their December meeting.
Cllr. Shane McGuinness praised the clean up operation in Blackrock after the storm, which led to the worst flooding in Blackrock in over a decade.
"But I think if there is another high tide in Blackrock, we probably need to be a bit more proactive in the point at which we decide to close the road.”
He added: “I know it is always difficult to get it right, but I do think we should have someone out there on the day of predicted high tides, to make the decision when to close it.”
Vehicles driving through flooded water on the main street were “flooding shops and businesses even more,” said Cllr. McGuinness.
Director of Service, David Hanratty said the council rely “almost exclusively on forecasts from Met Éireann”.
He said there is a “general rule of thumb” that if a storm surge hits three metres in Blackrock, the main street may be at risk of flooding.
But at 2pm on the day Storm Bram hit the east coast, the tide surge was predicted at 2.7 metres.
The council had, he said, carried out all the precautions they could, but by 2.15pm the surge had increased to 3.3 metres, which was a jump of two feet in the space of 15 minutes.
"This wasn’t forecast,” said Mr. Hanratty. “So in terms of a road closure, this really was not expected, and I know that the speed at which the water came over the wall caught a lot of people by surprise.”
The main road through the village was closed after sea water began to engulf the street.
"It was unfortunate, but it was a factor of the forecast that we received,” said Mr. Hanratty.