This article is from page 11 of the 2014-02-04 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 11 JPG
FOUR houses were evacuated in Doonbeg during the early hours of Saturday morning as waves smashed through windows and doors.
The houses along the Dunmore road had never previously experienced flooding or such force from the waves as the battlement along the bay protected them.
On Saturday morning last the 70year battlement could not hold back the ferocity of the storm and the homes along with the local caravan park were flooded.
During the storm on January 7, the land was flooded up to 150 metres from the village, reaching the 50 kilometres per hour sign at the bridge.
On Saturday morning the water far surpassed that reaching areas that had never before seen floodwater.
Community activist Tommy Commerford told The Clare People there were a number of vulnerable areas in the parish following the storm.
The stone barrier at Rhynnagonnaught was swept away allowing the water to run as far as Mountrivers.
By yesterday (Monday) up to 150 acres of land in this area still remained under seawater.
Stones and debris once again made agricultural land unworkable for lo- cal farmers, with many contending with reseeding land once again under seawater.
The road to Rhynnagonnaught is also under threat following the storm and the loss of this would maroon the residents on an island similar to what happened at Kilcredaun on the Loop Head peninsula.
Manager at the Doonbeg Golf Course and Spa Joe Russell said that while the golf course was once again victim to the storm the damage was not as significant as in January.
“It brought back the dune face again but not as much as before. The most notable thing is the debris on the golf course,” he said.
A significant clean up at the golf course is underway and plans are beginning for a major clean up at Doughmore beach.
“More needs to be done long term. If this happened every year we would have a problem,” the manager said.
“There is a long-term discussion that needs to be had. A long-term Government strategy needs to be prepared for this instead of going from crisis to crisis every year.”
An estimated € 800,000 worth of damage was done to infrastructure in the Doonbeg area in January, but with more places affected following the weekend that number is expected to multiply.