As communities in the coastal towns of Kinvara and Clarinbridge rally to support one another following the devastating blow to buildings and infrastructure, the question facing affected residents and business owners is ‘how will we rebuild’?
It has been three days since Storm Debi swept through Galway, battering coastal towns with gusts of up to 115 km/h, resulting in entire towns being flooded, destroying homes and businesses. Preceded by a Red Weather warning issued on Sunday, November 12, amid concerns about the ‘potential danger to life’ by the velocity of the approaching storm, schools were asked to delay openings until 10am and for many, life returned to normal.
For the people of Clarinbridge, returning to normal is a challenge that seems out of reach at the moment.
“Reality is just setting in, regarding the level of devastation that has been caused to most of Clarinbridge’s business community,” said Galway County Councillor and local resident, Martina Kinane. “Everyone is trying to be very positive, which I think you have to be at a time like this.”
It may not have been the worst storm flood of Galway’s medieval city centre, but residents, business owners and emergency workers all agree that Storm Debi was certainly one of the swiftest.
Videos circulating on social media show the entire southern portion of the city centre rapidly flood on Monday morning after storm-force onshore winds drove an exceptionally high tide over quaysides of the river estuary and canal basin already swollen with heavy rain.
