More flood damage expected in 2024 as Ryan predicts a ‘difficult year’ ahead

Damage caused by flooding in Ireland can “unfortunately” be expected again in 2024, with Minister for the Environment Eamon Ryan predicting a “difficult year” when it comes to severe weather around the world.

There was serious flooding in several counties as a result of storms and heavy rainfall in recent months, including in Cork where there was extensive damage in Midleton last October.

Met Éireann reported this week that rainfall was at “unprecedented levels” at times in 2023 and that it has been the warmest year on record.

At a round-table interview with reporters, Mr Ryan, the Green Party leader, was asked if he was confident enough had been done to mitigate the damage caused by floods or if it could be expected again in 2024.

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He replied: “Unfortunately, we can [expect damage]. What’s happened to the world this year was not expected in terms of the average temperature increase going above 1.5 degrees.”

The Minister called for a ‘focus on adaptation and protecting ourselves against climate impact, not just trying to reduce emissions’

He referred to the pre-Christmas flooding in Queensland, Australia, saying that it was “beyond precedent” and that “every week there’s a similar story”.

“It’s likely, unfortunately, that 2024 will be when the [weather phenomenon] El Niño effect really kicks in and we don’t know where, we don’t know exactly what form the weather disruption will be, but it’s likely we’re going into a difficult year,” he said.

The Minister called for a “focus on adaptation and protecting ourselves against climate impact, not just trying to reduce emissions”.

“I do think there has been a game-changer in understanding this, that it isn’t just about culverting rivers and concrete embankments and so on,” he said.

“It is about how you treat the river upstream and how you manage the source of the water and how you hold it back through grassland management, forestry management, peatland restoration, using natural floodplain areas.”

He said that the Office of Public Works (OPW), which has responsibility for some of Ireland’s flood defence measures, was “starting to understand that”.

Mr Ryan agreed that people should not pave over their front gardens, echoing a recent appeal from Dublin City Council, which wants the practice to be stopped to prevent increased flooding

“The work we’re doing on the land use review will help, because that has to optimise for so many different things, but included in that is managing our water system,” he said.

“It’s not impossible, and it’s often... nature-based solutions as well as the physical works that the OPW will do.”

Mr Ryan agreed that people should not pave over their front gardens, echoing a recent appeal from Dublin City Council, which wants the practice to be stopped to prevent increased flooding.

“I think gardens are good,” he said, adding that they create “a more attractive neighbourhood”.

He said that initiatives such as car-sharing schemes “will help free up car parking spaces so we don’t have to take out the gardens.”

This week Met Éireann reported that March and July were the wettest on record.

October was the second wettest month of the year, with Cork Airport recording its highest rainfall ever with 222 per cent of Octobers’ 1981 to 2020 long-term average.

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Keith Lambkin, head of climate services at weather forecasting service Met Éireann, said that the country had seen “a remarkable year with rainfall and warming at unprecedented levels at times.”

“These record-breaking extremes have knock-on consequences to much of society,” he said.

Storm Babet was singled out for causing “significant flooding” but Met Éireann also noted that November saw more rainfall and flooding.

A humanitarian assistance scheme had to be activated for flood-hit householders and supports were also put in place for small businesses that could not secure flood insurance through no fault of their own.

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