Flood damage and aftermath
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So most of you will have seen photos and videos of the recent devastating flooding in the city centre and surrounds, and more of you will have seen it with your own eyes.
The most significant destruction seems to be this section of quay wall by the Mercy Hospital at Grenville Place.
(more photos here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/1244123@N25/pool/ )
From http://www.corkcity.ie/news/mainbody,22217,en.html :
Collapse of quay wall at Grenville Place, Cork
During heavy flooding that occurred in Cork overnight a portion of the riverside wall at Grenville Place collapsed into the River Lee in the early hours of Friday morning (20/11/09).
The collapse of this section of wall in turn caused damage to the adjoining roadway. The stability of this roadway was closely monitored by the City Council throughout the day on Friday, however given the ongoing high water levels a full engineering assessment was not possible.
As a precautionary measure, and in the interest of safety, the City Council decided to evacuate the occupants of three adjoining properties on Grenville Place. These properties each comprise of a number of flats – a total of 43 people have been moved to temporary accommodation. City Council staff worked closely with the residents in their move and will continue to provide support throughout the weekend.
When conditions allow, a detailed engineering survey is to be undertaken and in the meantime interim stabilisation works are being undertaken by the City Council.
If I recall correctly, some developer proposed to build a multi-storey car park just across the river from this location a few years ago.
Now, I was just thinking that if major structural works are required to repair this stretch of road and wall to its original condition, should the city council go further and try to improve it rather than just reinstate the wall? I know there isn’t going to be any spare funding for capital works in the ‘current climate’, but if the repair work is going to be a massive job anyway, why not try and turn it into an opportunity for enhancing the area?
Instead of the bland stone wall I’d love to see a decent, wide footpath with a barrier that doesn’t block the view of the river (which actually looks pretty nice at this location, at high tide at least). A timber boardwalk like the new one on Grand Parade would be ideal but I wouldn’t get my hopes up.
If the structural damage to the road is severe and requires major reinforcement and reconstruction, is there scope to widen the road while they’re at it?
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maybe we will see an exemption from part m in flood prone areas?
I would bet my money on piles replacing that wall and maybe stone on top…
(but I don’t know what is under the water)
I like your idea though…
I imagine there is going to be a flood plain study if there is not already one by the large mulit disp. practice DCC used (the name escapes me)corkeniza
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@bosco wrote:
If I recall correctly, some developer proposed to build a multi-storey car park just across the river from this location a few years ago.
the old distillery is owned by UCC and the Mercy. i am unsure of where the dividing line on the site is.
the mercy itself has proposed having a parking structure over there, for patients, staff and visitors.
MUH had also been working on a master plan for the site, though where that lies in the current HSE reorientation of services, god only knows. i think the proposal was that the car park would be built and operated in a PPPshould the city council go further and try to improve it rather than just reinstate the wall?
I’d love to see a decent, wide footpath with a barrier that doesn’t block the view of the river
it would be nice to have a better view of the river here, but i assume the priority will be to leave a wall as a physical barrier against future flood waters. i remember a few years ago, there were plans to fill in the corner by the maltings and the mansion house portion of the mercy, to make a small park, and to build a pedestrian bridge across to the lee walkway, the proposed MUH multistorey carpark, and an expanded MUH campus. it was reported in the Echo also. That plan seems to have died a death
If the structural damage to the road is severe and requires major reinforcement and reconstruction, is there scope to widen the road while they’re at it?
i don’t know much about water flow, but the river turns and gets much narrower at the quay here. would widening the road make the channel even narrower and make the flow even stronger in flood situations?
along with the park proposal outlined above, i also heard that there were proposals to limit the quay here to vehicular access to MUH A&E only, with the rest of the quay from mcdonnell’s paints to MUH. All traffic would be diverted along sheare street and grattan street, or grenville place, henry street and grattan street. Not sure where that lies now. in a filing cabinet somewhere i presume!
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@rofbp wrote:
i don’t know much about water flow, but the river turns and gets much narrower at the quay here. would widening the road make the channel even narrower and make the flow even stronger in flood situations?
yeah your spot on, basically its flow rate is Q = VA where. Q = flow rate. V = fluid velocity. A = cross sectional area. so by narrowing it you make A smaller and V bigger cos you’ll still have the same flow. so will river will be even faster.
@missarchi wrote:
maybe we will see an exemption from part m in flood prone areas?
I would bet my money on piles replacing that wall and maybe stone on top…
(but I don’t know what is under the water)
I like your idea though…
I imagine there is going to be a flood plain study if there is not already one by the large mulit disp. practice DCC used (the name escapes me)corkeniza
there is actually already a study being done and the site is here http://www.leecframs.ie/
summary:Lee Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management Study (CFRAMS)The Office of Public Works (OPW) and its partners, Cork City Council and Cork County Council, have recognised the high levels of existing flood risk in and around the River Lee, its tributaries and Cork Harbour.
To address this issue, the Lee Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management Study (Lee CFRAMS), a catchment-based flood risk assessment and management study of the entire Lee Catchment, including the River Lee, its tributaries and Cork Harbour, is now being undertaken.
This website has been set up to provide information to members of the public and to keep you informed of the project’s progress. During the project there will be opportunities for you to become involved and these will be advertised in your locality as well as on the website and in our monthly project newsletters.
looks like we could have water flooding the city comingfrom both ends of the city.
it might interest that there has been talk that Cork might even need a flood barrier like london cos of the problem at the opposite end of the city island, storm surges coming up from the harbour with high tides http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/kfauojidqlau/rss2/one good thing that may have come out of this is maybe greater caution will be taken when planning for the docklands as its is very low and even lower than the river in many places. for anyone who is interested i attached a jpg showing a longtidunal section with it. the section follows an irregular path jus to demonstrate the levels.
@missarchi wrote:
maybe we will see an exemption from part m in flood prone areas?
out of interest what is a part m?
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compulsory disabled/flood access to buildings…
it’s a building regulation…
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This map illustrates Emergency Water and Sanitation Supplies in Cork City put in place by Cork City Council following the major floods that destroyed critical treatment and pumping equipment at the Waterworks on the Lee Road. The map will be updated daily using information from the Cork City Council Website
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