When it rains in the east Cork town of Midleton, people hold their breath, that is what the locals say.
For them, the concern over flooding is a major local election issue.
There is growing frustration in Midleton over the time it is taking for Cork County Council and the Office of Public Works (OPW) to introduce measures to mitigate the worst effects of flooding when it happens again.
On 18 October last, Storm Babet destroyed some 500 homes and 250 businesses in the east Cork area.
The cost of damage to homes, businesses, roads, bridges and other infrastructure in the county has been put at between €150m and €200m.
Among the worst-affected areas on that day were Midleton and Youghal, as well as Killeagh, Mogeely and Castlemartyre.
Caroline Leahy's home in the Tír Cluain estate in Midleton was among those destroyed.
Sandbags still lie up against her house walls, which she said will remain there until some interim flood-prevention measures are undertaken by the council and OPW.
She said: "They don't do a massive amount bar slow the water and buy you some time to move stuff, but it is all we have, that is literally the only safety we have, we have nothing else that is anyway protecting us."
Ms Leahy said that while they were underinsured, they were luckier than most people.
Seven months on, people are still counting the financial and emotional cost of Storm Babet, she said.
Speaking ahead of last Saturday's protest march in the town, Caroline said she believed people have been "totally left down to fend for themselves since last October".
She said: "We really are living in fear of this happening again. The risk to life in October was unbelievable. There were so many close calls. We just can't sit and wait for the next one.
"We thought it was on the road to being sorted out in 2015 (when the last serious flooding in the town occurred).
"Unfortunately, it wasn't, and we were left again in flooding in 2023. The planning permission has already been pushed back.
"It is not going to go back into submission until 2026, pushed back already from 2025, so we are a good ten years off flood defences here and there is a real risk to life in this town for the next flood event. We can't sit back and wait for it."
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Such is the growing frustration with the progression of plans for a flood relief scheme - first promised nine years ago - that the Midleton & East Cork Flood Protection Group gathered and handed in a petition with nearly 15,000 signatures to the Dáil on 20 February calling for urgent interim mitigation action.
And further dismay was caused when it was confirmed last month by the Minister with Responsibility for the OPW, Kieran O'Donnell, that it could well be 2026 before planning permission for the €50m schemewould be submitted.
Businessman Damien O'Brien of the Midleton & Area Chamber of Commerce said the town's business community share the householders' frustration.
He said: "A lot of these schemes when they do get going, they are successsful, they have been successful in towns like Fermoy, and Bandon and Clonakilty, but what is very frustrating in a public sector project is it can take a lot of time.
"They have to be sensitive to a lot of environmental issues etc., but at the same time, it is very slow.
"We are not seeing a lot of traction even since Storm Babet in terms of how quickly they are moving towards getting the planning set up.
"I do understand these processes take time, but we are looking for any sort of easy winds where they can speed it up."
In a statement, Cork County Council said it and the OPW are making every effort to "expedite the provision of flood mitigation measures".
The current timeline for submission of the planning application for the Midleton Flood Relief Scheme is next summer, but this timeline "maybe subject to change".
The local authority went on to say that ahead of the delivery of the flood relief scheme, it and the OPW are working to deliver interim and advance flood mitigation measures but "careful consideration of flood mitigation measures is required to ensure that there are no unintended consequences of such works".
