West Mayo counts cost of severe weather

The flooding, electricity outages, blocked roads and destruction caused by the sudden snowstorm that hit much of Mayo on November 20th is "a big wake-up call" for rural communities.

The comments were made at a meeting of Westport Belmullet Municipal District where councillors praised the quick response of emergency services, including the ESB and Mayo County Council, but admitted that council staff were rushing from one target to another to shore up the damage as the snowstorm was followed by heavy rain. 

Highlighting a severe shortage of council staff due to retirements and cutbacks over the years, Achill-based Cllr Paul McNamara said the unexpected weather had caused "havoc" across West Mayo.

“We did not have any real warning for the amount of snow that fell over only 12 hours, that caused havoc. In my area, a whole parish was knocked out of power for 12 hours, 500 homes were left without electricity for four days and two of those were also without water.” 

Commenting on climate change, Cllr McNamara said: “We all know it is happening and I do believe our rural areas are very vulnerable going forward if something isn’t done, with high tides and ever more frequent storms. Of those 500 houses left without power, 70% were elderly people, and with everything in the house nearly electrical now, some didn’t even have solid fuel to keep warm.

“While we are promoting solar panels and recycling plastic and that’s all great, it will only work for the next generation. But we are doing nothing for the generation living here now and unless proper infrastructure and emergency plans are in place for these populations going forward, it will be a disaster.” 

Cllr McNamara said there had been a "massive landslide" in Shramore which meant that the N59 was blocked for several hours until machinery could be brought to the scene to remove the debris. The Fianna Fáil councillor said the recent events had really highlighted the staff shortages at Mayo County Council.

"What is coming to bite us is the fact that 15-20 outdoor staff in recent years have retired and the knock-on of this is now being felt on the ground.

“The chief executive needs to lead out in rural Mayo with proper emergency strategies in place when these sudden storms hit, whether that is staff being on standby or whatever. If this had happened on the east coast, it would have been all non-stop on the media and all our senior politicians in wellingtons walking through the floods until each house was connected again. But because the west coast is forgotten about, nothing is being done to protect the vulnerable in rural Ireland from changing climate and the frequent storms we are having.” 

Independent Cllr John O’Malley said while the council “did the best they could”, the snow came out of nowhere and “the ploughs weren’t ready". He said there was just one lane accessible on the new N5 road around Westport the next morning with a number of cars stuck there from the night before.

“While the ESB were out when they were needed, I can’t understand when every time there is a storm, there is a breakdown of electricity. It was down in Aughagower on the day, reconnected, and down again the next, and in Kilmeena it was gone all the next day until 8pm.

"Most people depend on electricity so we are all vulnerable now.” 

Cllr O'Malley said the melting snow, combined with heavy rain, had caused the worst flooding in parts of Kilmeena "in living memory". 

“I could not believe what I saw. Septic tanks filled with water and people had to get contractors to drain them out. The rivers were flooded with all the overflow backing up a quarter a mile into the land, that now stands there stagnant, polluting them.” 

He said people could not get out of their houses due to the floods, adding: “If we want our people to live in rural Ireland - and safely - we have to clean the rivers and have the water flowing into the sea.” 

Cllr O'Malley said that the local Mayour river in Carrawholly still hasn’t been cleaned out despite 20 years of campaigning. He said there was a real danger that people would dry to drive through the floodwaters. 

“What will happen next is someone will chance it because they have to get out to get food and supplies. So if it is not done soon, a life will be lost.” 

It was pointed out that other areas were also badly affected by the storm, including Erriff, Fahy and Newport where the road from Knocknageeha was flooded. 

Louisburgh-based Cllr Chris Maxwell said it was “horrendous" in his area with "untold flooding” and he called on the council to cut trees and bushes along roads which he said would save power lines from being knocked down in the first place.

Erris councillor Cllr Gerry Coyle said there was something “terribly wrong if some places are left without electricity for four days in 2024”. 

“I am sick of hearing about windmills and millions of euros coming and then the first storm comes in and the lights are out.” 

He asked that a strategy be carried out to cut back every single bush and tree 10 metres from the road to avoid such flooding and access issues occurring again.

Cllr Brendan Mulroy said the Mall River in Westport almost burst its banks and “will go very soon”. He added that years ago when people attempted to clean the river themselves, they were nearly prosecuted.

“Cllr O’Malley is right. Someone will die. The issue is we don’t have enough staff and those we have were left firefighting from one situation to another due to the fallout. We need more hands on deck and more help.” 

He added that the flooding on part of the greenway was so bad a child would drown in it. Cllr O’Malley said there must have been six feet of water on the greenway.

Cathaoirleach Cllr Sean Carey said there were floods everywhere in Bangor Erris and that the rivers needed to be cleaned and free-flowing, especially in Belmullet where the land was low-lying and parts had already been taken away due to coastal erosion.

“More and more land is going to be taken and there will be people effectively left on islands because there will be no access in or out for them,” he declared.