Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
Hi all,
Vanilla are planning an update to the site on April 24th (next Wednesday). It is a major PHP8 update which is expected to boost performance across the site. The site will be down from 7pm and it is expected to take about an hour to complete. We appreciate your patience during the update.
Thanks all.

Cars damaged in heavy Salthill flooding

Options
  • 04-08-2015 10:59am
    #1
    Iwannahurl
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,156 ✭✭✭


    From the Connacht Tribune website:
    More than a dozen cars suffered serious water damage following flooding in Salthill last night.

    High tides combined with strong winds to cause the flooding along the Promenade. The stretch behind Seapoint to Dr Colohan Road was closed by Gardaí and the City Council from around 8pm.

    http://connachttribune.ie/cars-damaged-in-heavy-salthill-flooding-200/

    i know it's "summer", but was this entirely unexpected?

    A couple of winters ago there was serious flooding in Toft Park especially. Neither the road nor the car park were closed until it was too late. I know a few people who lost their cars. Luckily they were fully insured, but should this be happening repeatedly?


Comments

  • Options
    #2
    Storm 10
    Registered Users Posts: 5,873 ✭✭✭Storm 10


    The City Council carried out flood defence work at the Aquarium by raising the sea wall, as you can see it did not work, nothing is going to stop the sea if the wind and high tide are right. There are pictures from Spiddal yesterday and that pier has a huge protecting wall and the waves were coming right over it.

    Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/GalwayAdvertiser


  • Options
    #3
    snubbleste
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 31,117 ✭✭✭✭snubbleste


    Meh, it's just Mother Nature reclaiming the area.


  • Options
    #4
    Atlantic Dawn
    Registered Users Posts: 81,154 ✭✭✭✭Atlantic Dawn
    M


    One of the highest tides of the year, the wind as it was, it could have been predicted a long time ago.


  • Options
    #5
    Mrs OBumble
    Registered Users Posts: 25,670 ✭✭✭✭Mrs OBumble


    Atlantic Dawn wrote: »
    One of the highest tides of the year, the wind as it was, it could have been predicted a long time ago.

    It would have taken a special kind of stupid to leave a car parked anywhere on the sea side of the Prom last night.


  • Options
    #6
    joeKel73
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,689 ✭✭✭joeKel73


    Mrs OBumble wrote: »
    It would have taken a special kind of stupid to leave a car parked anywhere on the sea side of the Prom last night.

    You have a lot of tourists parking here that would have no local knowledge of tides, flood areas etc. . We should be doing more to prevent it.

    I know there's permanent "this area might flood" signs but there should be more prominent warnings ahead of these predictable events. Last night's conditions were well forecasted from early last week, we canceled a trip to the Aran Islands a few days earlier because of it.

    Also where were the new inflatable flood defenses at the Spanish Arch? No plan for storms+tides that arrive on a Bank Holiday Monday?


  • Advertisement
  • Options
    #7
    joeKel73
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,689 ✭✭✭joeKel73


    Also a lot of people who aren't from coastal areas have a surprising lack of knowledge of how the likes of tides work. I've heard lads at Blackrock saying "We should have come at 4pm, the tide in Galway is usually high about 4pm"...


  • Options
    #8
    Iwannahurl
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,156 ✭✭✭Iwannahurl


    Storm 10 wrote: »
    The City Council carried out flood defence work at the Aquarium by raising the sea wall, as you can see it did not work, nothing is going to stop the sea if the wind and high tide are right. There are pictures from Spiddal yesterday and that pier has a huge protecting wall and the waves were coming right over it.

    Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/GalwayAdvertiser
    snubbleste wrote: »
    Meh, it's just Mother Nature reclaiming the area.

    The effects of climate change already exceeding the City Council's mitigation efforts, in only 18 months?

    Mrs OBumble wrote: »
    It would have taken a special kind of stupid to leave a car parked anywhere on the sea side of the Prom last night.

    Visitors to Salthill, and there must be thousands of them at this time of year, could not be expected to know of the flood risk, especially if the Council left the car parking areas open. If the Council and AGS knew in advance, they should have closed the areas prone to flooding.


  • Options
    #9
    Mrs OBumble
    Registered Users Posts: 25,670 ✭✭✭✭Mrs OBumble


    J o e wrote: »
    Also a lot of people who aren't from coastal areas have a surprising lack of knowledge of how the likes of tides work. I've heard lads at Blackrock saying "We should have come at 4pm, the tide in Galway is usually high about 4pm"...

    Ya, and it's not like it's something they teach in school ...:rolleyes:


  • Options
    #10
    joeKel73
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,689 ✭✭✭joeKel73


    I don't think we ever got taught much about tides etc in school... :confused:


  • Options
    #11
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭ [Deleted User]


    Mrs OBumble wrote: »
    Ya, and it's not like it's something they teach in school ...:rolleyes:

    They don't teach anything about this sort of thing in school and also people not actually taking part in maritime activities don't often think about the tide or the times of the tide.

    There are visitors parking in the area, people who live there but are away for the weekend, people who didnt think it would get so bad etc. Its a extremely unfair to say they are stupid.


  • Advertisement
  • Options
    #12
    snubbleste
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 31,117 ✭✭✭✭snubbleste


    J o e wrote: »
    I don't think we ever got taught much about tides etc in school... :confused:
    Geography, de moon, de sea, de romantic interaction between the two.
    2 low tides & 2 high tides a day, neap tides etc.


  • Options
    #13
    wp_rathead
    Registered Users Posts: 10,067 ✭✭✭✭wp_rathead


    Mrs OBumble wrote: »
    It would have taken a special kind of stupid to leave a car parked anywhere on the sea side of the Prom last night.

    Unnecessary really. As said, alot of tourists would be unaware of the flood risk in the car park. Not being aware of it doesn't make someone a "special kind of stupid"..


  • Options
    #14
    joeKel73
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,689 ✭✭✭joeKel73


    snubbleste wrote: »
    2 low tides & 2 high tides a day, neap tides etc.

    There will be only 1 high tide this coming Saturday. Mind blown? :p


  • Options
    #15
    Mrs OBumble
    Registered Users Posts: 25,670 ✭✭✭✭Mrs OBumble


    wp_rathead wrote: »
    Unnecessary really. As said, alot of tourists would be unaware of the flood risk in the car park.

    You reckon they cannot read the warning signs? They could not observe the weather conditions?

    Nah, I don't buy it.


  • Options
    #16
    Crumbs868
    Closed Accounts Posts: 438 ✭✭Crumbs868


    Mrs OBumble wrote: »
    You reckon they cannot read the warning signs? They could not observe the weather conditions?

    Nah, I don't buy it.

    What a crappy attitude you have. Galway is a tourist town in case you don't know. I hope you have a different attitude if you interact with tourists.

    It's 'summer time' and it's a permanent sign so I wouldn't call someone stupid for not taking too much notice of it.

    I take it that when you pass a school children crossing sign at 3am you expect to see school children? If you are up in Wicklow mountains in August you expect to see snow?


  • Options
    #17
    Zzippy
    Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 14,166 Mod ✭✭✭✭Zzippy


    Anyone who's been on holiday abroad may have noticed a much smaller tidal range (difference between low and high tide), especially in the Mediterranean. Many people, particularly tourists, would simply have no understanding that the tidal range on the west coast here is huge by comparison. Yesterday's HT was 5.3 metres, LT was 0.6, that's 4.7 metres or nearly 15.5 feet of a difference. Park your car at low tide, it wouldn't be unreasonable for them to expect their car won't be submerged a few hours later. We live here, we're aware of the tidal range, we know the risks. Very unfair to call people a special sort of stupid for not being aware of todal differences. If anyone was stupid, it was the council who didn't put up the temporary flood defence at the Spanish Arch.


  • Options
    #18
    Rambler11
    Registered Users Posts: 34 ✭Rambler11


    After the serious flooding last year they seemed to manage this really well; a temporary electronic sign would be placed on the prom near the car park stating risk of flooding with the times and dates. It advised people to move cars before high tide. I remember lots of social media warnings as well.....seem to have been caught unawares this time around. In fact, the lack of this may have given some people a false sense of security.


  • Options
    #19
    what_traffic
    Registered Users Posts: 4,868 ✭✭✭what_traffic


    Rambler11 wrote: »
    After the serious flooding last year they seemed to manage this really well; a temporary electronic sign would be placed on the prom near the car park stating risk of flooding with the times and dates. It advised people to move cars before high tide. I remember lots of social media warnings as well.....seem to have been caught unawares this time around. In fact, the lack of this may have given some people a false sense of security.

    This is a really good idea. The Council already have such signs on the approach roads on the East Side of the City.
    Are Galway City Council the actual owners of the car cark beside the Aquarium?


  • Options
    #20
    Iwannahurl
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,156 ✭✭✭Iwannahurl


    what_traffic wrote: »
    This is a really good idea. The Council already have such signs on the approach roads on the East Side of the City.
    Are Galway City Council the actual owners of the car cark beside the Aquarium?

    If this is a recurring issue then self-evidently the existing signage is not sufficient.

    Though free of charge, it's a municipal parking facility. The Council makes some cash out of it on occasion by using it as a handy spot for issuing "parking" tickets. I wonder whether any of the damaged cars had been ticketed on this occasion, as they were in December 2013? That would add insult to inundation.


  • Options
    #21
    joeKel73
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,689 ✭✭✭joeKel73


    In the Galway Independent...
    A spokesperson for the council said that although the tide was high, it wasn’t exceptionally high.

    “The high tide at 8.12pm coincided with the worst of the wind and water was being pushed over the prom, quay wall and at Spanish Arch. But at Spanish Arch, it only went up on the grassy area which absorbed all the water and it didn’t flood out onto the street or road.

    “The boom is designed to stop flooding onto the road and into nearby businesses. That’s why the barrier wasn’t needed,” he said.

    I don't know, sounds like they just got lucky...


  • Advertisement
  • Options
    #22
    beardybrewer
    Registered Users Posts: 2,917 ✭✭✭beardybrewer


    J o e wrote: »
    Also a lot of people who aren't from coastal areas have a surprising lack of knowledge of how the likes of tides work. I've heard lads at Blackrock saying "We should have come at 4pm, the tide in Galway is usually high about 4pm"...

    I think an awful lot of people not from this area would have thought man can dominate over nature as we do successfully in most coastal areas. I put it down to lack of local knowledge about our city council. :D


  • Options
    #23
    granturismo
    Registered Users Posts: 1,891 ✭✭✭granturismo


    J o e wrote: »
    Also a lot of people who aren't from coastal areas have a surprising lack of knowledge of how the likes of tides work. I've heard lads at Blackrock saying "We should have come at 4pm, the tide in Galway is usually high about 4pm"...

    High tide in Galway is usually at 4pm? Really? Those 'lads' obviously missed the geography lesson on tides or havent noticed that the tide times change every day.


  • Options
    #24
    thesandeman
    Registered Users Posts: 9,899 ✭✭✭thesandeman


    In fairness, if I came to a strange town and saw a carpark with cars already parked there I would just hop in. The last thing I would think of would be flooding unless there were warning signs prominently displayed.


Advertisement