Local company helps flood plans

The current spells of heavy rain, with sodden fields and flooding in a number of parts of the country are in part being dealt with through work carried out by a local firm, writes Brian Byrne.

Murphy Surveys has a specialist Flood Survey Team — part of its Specialist Engineering Services department — which has carried out flood area investigations for many local authorities and national organisations in recent years, and the data collected is used to predict, control and prevent damage caused by flooding.

The company also has the capacity to monitor actual flood conditions using its unmanned aerial vehicles — drones — to provide real-time updates of flood extents, to aid effective management and flood response for emergency services.

Flood damage can also be quickly assessed afterwards by the surveyors and inspectors on properties, bridges, culverts, weirs, sluices and flood defences, and identify areas of river bank erosion, debris build-up and siltation.

Over the last 12 months, Murphy Surveys has carried out investigations for flood modelling purposes in Co Cork, Co Kildare, Co Dublin and Co Westmeath. Works were also carried out in Kilkenny, capturing property level details to record against known flood water levels.