Farmers and householders in Co Wexford are counting the cost of flash floods, which required emergency evacuations and destroyed roads and bridges on Christmas Day.

Homes, yards and businesses were submerged under murky floodwaters as intense rainfall combined with high tides to wreak havoc in both urban and rural areas.

Dozens of roads and bridges were left impassable or, in some cases, completely washed away by the force of the floodwater.

Air Corps helicopter Rescue 117 was tasked with rescuing people from the village of Bridgetown, where nine houses were evacuated in what has been described as the worst flooding since 1959.

The Department of Social Protection is to provide an income-tested humanitarian assistance scheme for people whose homes were damaged and who cannot afford the cost of essential needs.

Thousands of acres have been under water since Christmas Day

On farms, sheds and silage pits were flooded and slurry tanks filled with water as torrents swept through farmyards. The force of water was strong enough to rip straining posts from the ground in places.

Wexford County Council advised farmers who have issues with slurry storage to contact their farm adviser or its environment department.

“Thousands of acres have been under water since Christmas Day,” said Wexford IFA county chair Jer O’Mahony, who is from Bannow. “Hundreds of acres of grain crops are probably lost at this stage – one farmer alone has 70 acres of winter crops under water.”

There’s serious damage done, there’s a couple of foot of water in fields still

He called on the county council to urgently survey bridges for structural defects that could be dangerous for heavy milk lorries or grain trucks.

IFA president Tim Cullinan, who visited Wexford on Wednesday to inspect the damage, said: “There’s serious damage done, there’s a couple of foot of water in fields still.”

He said remedial works to prevent flooding and remove silt had been agreed with the county council and the OPW but never happened, which contributed to the current problems.

‘Better warning system needed for catastrophes’ – Doran

Dairy farmer and ICBF chair Michael Doran from Duncormick, Co Wexford, was one of many farmers affected by sudden flash floods.

“Neither I, nor any other local people, witnessed the speed at which water levels rose, and flooding started,” he told the Irish Farmers Journal. He recorded 86mm of rain on the day and said water levels rose by a massive 2m locally.

Close to 150,000 gallons of water filled tanks before I could build dams to avert the flooding

“Rivers of water flowed from all direction through my farmyard and flooded tanks and silage that was fed out for the Christmas period to stock.

“Close to 150,000 gallons of water filled tanks before I could build dams to avert the flooding,” he said, adding that he was “one of the lucky ones” because the water did not flood his home.

“Many others were less fortunate, with homes and businesses submerged under metres of water, of which many never flooded before or would have even expected to be at flood risk.

What happened here was somewhere between an orange and red event. There are reports of damage to up to 40 bridges across the county

Others could have been better prepared if proper advance warning had been given,” he insisted, directing his anger at Met Éireann for not giving a stronger warning than the yellow warning.

“What happened here was somewhere between an orange and red event. There are reports of damage to up to 40 bridges across the county. With some totally washed away, the repair bill will come to millions and many communities will be left isolated and feeling the impact for a long time to come.

“There needs to be a better system in place to alert communities facing catastrophe.

“Met Éireann left a lot of people across the southeast stranded on Christmas Day.”