Mini Tsunami to hit Moville this evening?
Devastation
The storms of last night and this morning have caused devastation, especially to the shore path. I’ve just come back from Bath Green and saw the devastation to the shore path. The corner just after Columcill’s Well has been taken away and there is a sign at the well saying the path is shut. The stairs going down just past the Putting Green area have a barrier saying it is shut too.
Adrian Harkin’s Just Kayak area seems to have been hit as well. The gate at the slipway and the surrounding metal stanchions appear to have been destroyed. That’s such a shame as the Kayak’s have done so much for the town. Hopefully he can get it fixed quickly and it doesn’t stop his operation.
Pier
The pier has been hit too. There are great big rocks just outside the fishery area and there is a line of seaweed and debris actually up on the approach area to the pier showing that the tide made it right up there. A lot of the shellfish pots are in the water having been washed off the pier.
Big chunks of the shoreline have quite literally been washed away.
Tonight
However, this may not be the end of it. That might just have softened us up for the big sucker punch.
When I was on the bus to Derry today the radio said that parts of Belfast were being evacuated as a tidal surge was expected in the next few hours with the most danger at high tide. If Belfast is getting it I would presume we would be getting it too.
Tidal surges are dangerous as they happen quickly. The danger time for Moville is at high tide tonight. That happens at 8:20pm. I’ve noticed that the River Bredagh which had subsided after breaking its banks at high tide this morning, is starting to rise again. A high tide meeting a high river could cause devastation.
Mini Tsunami
If there is a tidal surge at the same time as the high tide and the high river levels, we have seen on TV the effects that tsunamis have. The Council must know something as they have given out sandbags to the residents there.
We missed out. I was away in Derry when the guys came round. They asked my son if we got flooded. He said “no” and that appeared to be that.
So, we, like the rest of the River Row and Moville await the high tide this evening and hope that this morning’s problems weren’t just to soften us up before the knockout punch.
This ain’t over yet!