A CLARE mother forced out of her home by the December floods has spoken of her fear that lives will be lost as the bad weather continues to wreak havoc on homes and businesses.
Geraldine Mason has been living in a house in Ardnacrusha, which was provided by a neighbour, after her family home in Clonlara flooded on December 12 when the River Shannon broke its banks.
"Christmas was not like Christmas. I had no interest in Christmas. It was just another day to me," she said.
On St Stephen’s Day morning, the family got a phonecall to say that the water had begun to rise again. Pumps were being used throughout yesterday in a frantic bid to prevent further damage.
“My husband is down there in the house on his own every night and I am worried about him. It’s just waiting now to see again,” a tearful Mrs Mason told RTÉ’s Keelin Shanley.
The worried mother revealed that water had started to seep through the sandbags surrounding her home on Monday night again and that her husband was desperate to save the house from being destroyed by the floodwater.
“The danger is that someone is going to get hurt or drowned down there. There was about five feet of water outside my wall before Christmas and here we go now again just waiting and waiting,” she said.
Mrs Mason was speaking after Met Éireann issued a status yellow rainfall warning for counties Clare, Limerick, Donegal, Monaghan, Cavan, Sligo, Roscommon, Mayo, Leitrim, Tipperary and most of Leinster.
