Big Freeze to cost €20m

Date Published: 07-Jan-2010

THE big freeze has left householders across Galway counting the cost of damage caused by burst pipes – it is estimated that the bill could run to as much as €20 million.

Insurance assessors have been working long hours trying to ascertain the damage caused by freezing pipes and they reckon that more than 1,000 homes in County Galway were affected.

The vast majority of houses were affected between Christmas Eve and St. Stephen’s Day when temperatures plummeted.

Some houses in the North Galway area were damaged to the tune of around €40,000 while it is estimated that the average pay out will be in the region of €20,000.

Insurance companies say that they are still receiving a “substantial” number of calls from householders reporting damage resulting from burst pipes in their attics.

Many returned home having spent Christmas elsewhere to discover extensive damage to their homes from burst pipes – the vast majority of these had to move out of their homes.

This new crisis comes hot on the heels of the extensive flooding which left hundreds of people homeless in various parts of Galway.

Insurance assessor, Joe Dolan from Tuam said that he was inundated with calls relating to houses damaged during the big freeze.

He explained that the vast majority of damage related to carpets, wooden floors, ceilings while a lot of houses suffered electrical problems.

“Many of the houses I have inspected would have damage of between €30,000 and €40,000 caused to them. Precautions are now being taken but a lot of houses have suffered in the meantime”, Mr. Dolan added.

He said the vast majority of problems occurred on St. Stephen’s Night and in the majority of cases it was two storey dwellings that were affected.

Tommy Kelly of FBD Insurance in Athenry said that the company had received a substantial amount of calls from householders with burst pipes and they were in the process of dealing with all of their customers. He advised householders to keep a close watch on attic pipes and warned that there should be no complacency as the cold spell is set to continue into next week.

A lot of home owners are leaving taps running in spite of specific advice from Galway County Council not to do so as water levels are reducing and it is resulting in pumps being burned out.

The local authority may impose restrictions on use at night times in order to conserve supplies and allow reservoirs levels to rise.

Meanwhile, Met. Eireann say that temperatures could drop to -10 Celsius over the coming days and the freezing temperatures are to continue into the early days of next week.

See also on page 4 of this week’s Connacht Tribune

• Schools in battle to re-open
• Calls for fuel funds for elderly
• Fracture surgeons running out of screws
• Tourists depart early
• Hundreds of households short of water