Residents in Listowel in Co Kerry have called on the Office of Public Works to build up the banks of the River Feale, ahead of putting a long-term flood relief plan in place for the town.
Their calls follow extensive flooding last November, which damaged more than 70 homes and caused millions of euro worth of damage.
On 23 November, Storm Bert brought a deluge of rain to Kerry and the River Feale could not cope.
The level of the river rose to 4.2 metres. Flooding on this scale had never been seen since records of the river depth began in the 1940s.
More than 70 homes were flooded, including at the Paddocks and the Meadows estates in Listowel.
"It was just the speed of it and the force, it was unbelievable"
There was further flooding outside the town, 6km downstream at Killocrim.
Majella Stack's home at Killocrim was under half a metre of water in minutes.
"Within the space of nine minutes, we were totally flooded here," Majella recalls.
"It was nine minutes from when we saw it gushing down the field from the river. It had breached the bank below at Finuge Bridge, so we started to fill sand bags.
"A few of the neighbours were here with us, trying to fill the sandbags, and we were putting the sand bags up to the door as the water was coming into us."
She describes what she saw as frightening and says she was panicked.
"It was just the speed of it and the force, it was unbelievable. People were in shock for ages afterwards because we just couldn't believe this happened."
Everything on the ground floor of Majella's home had to be stripped out and dumped, from floor coverings to furniture and beds and kitchen appliances.
She estimates that the flooding caused between €70,000 and €80,000 to her home, not counting items of sentimental value which she says are irreplaceable.
Majella says people in her neighbourhood and in Listowel are worried that the flooding wasn't a once-off event and that it will happen again.
"Long term, we want measures put in place so that we won't be flooded again, or that Listowel won't be flooded, or anybody along the Feale won't be flooded. Measures have to be put in place," she says.
The Feale is a salmon river of international importance and it is designated by Government as a special area of conservation.
Majella and her neighbours say the river bed has risen significantly over the last three or four decades, and they're calling for the river bed to be dredged and for the banks of the river to be built up, to protect them against further flooding.
That is a difficult and complex issue, however, with laws in place restricting the action that can be taken.
"53 years of their life gone in less than 10 minutes"
"It's great to say you need to look after the environment and you need to look after wildlife and all the rest of it, but if it's a threat to people's lives and a threat to people's homes and the economy and everything, there has to be some measures put in place where the river can be maintained so that it doesn't cause any more devastation."
Next door, more than €150,000 worth of damage was done to John and Bridie Carroll's home.
John was at home. He describes his devastation as the flood waters rose up to a metre inside, and the furniture and kitchen appliances began to float.
John and Bridie Carroll had no house insurance.
Today, the house is still a shell and they have not moved back.
"Mom and Dad are in the house 53 years - that's 53 years of their life gone in less than 10 minutes," their daughter Lorraine explains.
"They're not the only house. Every other house around here, up to 20 houses, were all the same. It was unbelievable."
John and Bridie's family live in the houses that surround them at Killocrim. Their homes were flooded too, Lorraine Carroll explains.
"It was heart-breaking to see it," she says. "A couple of days later, watching six skips go on two artic lorries from the three houses, absolutely full of everyone's possessions, two artic lorries carrying them over the road to be dumped.
She says she has nightmares that the floods might return and, two months on, still has sand bags protecting her house and property, across the road from her parents' home.
"It happened so easy, without warning, how easy is it going to happen again," Lorraine asks. "We're terrified it's going to happen again, absolutely terrified."
She insists that the risk to people in the area must be prioritised over the wildlife and environment, which are protected by law.
"They're saying they can't dredge the river because of an EU directive; they want to save the snails, save the fish - what about people? Do they not want to save people. Like, something has to be done. It has to be rectified, and the sooner the better," Lorraine says.
Residents at Killocrim have taken some action themselves, laying out a thousand sand bags to build up the northern bank of the Feale at Finuge Bridge, the point at which the river overflowed last November, spilled across a field and flooded the homes up to half a kilometre away.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
Local resident Kevin Lynch was one of the neighbours who organised that. His home was one of those which was flooded too. He estimates that the bill for damage in his case will be in excess of €150,000.
Refurbishment of his home is continuing, and he and his family haven't been able to move back in yet.
"Anything that's wood had to be taken out.
"The whole kitchen units will have to go, timber floors in our sitting room and bedrooms, the doors, skirting boards, architraves, tiling will have to be removed as well."
Kevin acts as a spokesperson for residents at Killocrim. He says all are worried that there could be a recurrence.
"There is a fear, for me and my family, that if we live here another 20 or 30 years and no additional work is done to the River Feale, we could be back in this situation again."
He said residents want a long term solution, that will protect the area into the future.
He also says people must be prioritised over concerns that the area lies within a special area of conservation.
"Well, human life is a special area of conservation as well," he insists.
"I'm trying to protect human life here in Killocrim and the local surrounding area. We can't just ignore human life here. If this happened during the night, there would have been loss of life - I am assured of that."
The Government has a Budget of €1.3 billion to tackle flooding and put long-term flood relief measures in place at hotspots around the country, but around 100 towns and villages are in the queue with Listowel to get that work done.
