This article is from page 14 of the 2014-01-21 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 14 JPG
BARBARA Cusack knew nothing about the flood in her home until she stepped on to the floor at 6am on the morning of the flood.
“I was woken by the rescue people who knocked on the door around 6am to see if we were okay. That was the first I saw of it,” she said.
Immediately she feared for her daughter who was just days from giving birth.
“I told her she would have to move out of the house somewhere when I saw all the damage in the area. How would she get to a hospital?” she said.
Since then Charlotte has given birth to a healthy boy Shane Joseph, but now Barbara fears the house is not safe to bring her first grandchild home.
The oil is still not working, she explained, making looking after her husband who is ill all the more difficult.
It is also making it more difficult to dry out the house and get life back to normal.
For three days after the storm, Barbara, like her neighbours, had to contend with no sewerage system, as the water got into the system and the nearby pumping station.
Barbara explained getting on with every day life is difficult as people try to dry out their houses, replace every day white electrical goods and live in fear of the next wave.