Flooding in Cork: Widespread damage after Storm Babet expected to cost millions of euro to repair

Widespread damage across Co Cork in the aftermath of Storm Babet is expected to cost millions of euro to repair, prompting the establishment of an emergency Government fund that could surpass its initial €10 million budget.

Much of that relief capital will benefit businesses and homes, the vast majority of which, according to insurance brokers, are unable to access cover due to previous flooding.

The scale of destruction was immediately evident on Thursday, with some shop owners facing repair costs of up €500,000, according to one estimate.

To add to the crisis, small- and medium-sized businesses may have had Christmas stock destroyed during the freak weather event that caught many by surprise on Wednesday.

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With further rain warnings in place for Thursday night, the events bring renewed focus to the issue of sparse insurance availability, affecting even those areas with flood defence measures in place.

“Most of those places that flooded have previously flooded ... and therefore they probably had whatever cover they did have then, if they had it then, removed,” said Jonathan Hehir, chief executive of online brokers insuremyhouse.ie and insuremyshop.ie.

[ Analysis: Why was the Storm Babet flooding so bad? ]

“We’ve basically decided as a society that yes, where you live or where you work floods and there’s nothing we can do about it. And every couple of years your business or your house will be destroyed. That’s where we’re at and it’s devastating for people,” Mr Hehir said.

“It is unbelievable the amount of damage [it does]. All the pictures in the world do not tell the story until you’re actually on site.”

Most business owners are unlikely to have insurance to pay for lost stock, interior refits and staff wages and rent during closure periods, expenses that would be covered in the event of fire.

“Midleton in particular would have no insurance because of previous claims in 2009, 2015 and now this one,” said Paul Kavanagh, executive director of the Cork-based McCarthy Insurance Group, a broker with 17 nationwide offices. He estimates repair costs in some business cases could reach €500,000.

[ ‘It’s like a hurricane came into the shop’: Midleton retailers count the cost of floods ]

“It’s nearly like one strike and you’re out. That’s nearly a loose rule of thumb by the insurers,” he said. “Flooding is probably the worst thing that can happen in your business. Because the insurers will decide, let’s eliminate the risk.”

Mr Kavanagh said in many areas such as Fermoy, successful flood defence works have not reversed the lack of cover, with insurers pointing to a risk of potential human error in the operation of demountable barriers.

However, according to Insurance Ireland, the representative body for insurers in Ireland, cover can only be provided against unforeseen risk.

“When a risk becomes an inevitable event rather than a possible occurrence, it is no longer possible to provide cover,” a spokeswoman said.

“Unfortunately, in some areas of the country the level of flood risk is so high as to be tantamount to inevitable, and insurers have had no option but to withdraw flood cover. If insurers were to cover inevitable events the cost of premiums in general could increase considerably.”

Many of those affected will turn to Government financing, which Taoiseach Leo Varadkar indicated could surpass the €10 million initially allocated through a humanitarian assistance scheme.

Conor Healy, chief executive of the Cork Chamber, said it was crucial financial supports were made available as quickly as possible and that attention then turn to long-term flood mitigation measures.

On Thursday night, the community in Midleton was bracing itself as the rain began to fall again and as sandbags were distributed in the town.

In Scotland, where Storm Babet had also exacted a heavy toll, a 57-year-old woman was found dead two hours after reports that someone had been swept into the Water of Lee at Glen Esk.