Several homes in Limerick city were badly damaged overnight when sewage and water flowed through homes after a water mains burst.
Residents along the street woke to the sounds of rushing water, as a three-foot high deluge flowed around their homes.
Adrian Ryan said when he opened the front door of his home at Bengal Terrace, around 2.30am he was driven back by a "river of human waste".
Mr Ryan, who was first to raise the alarm, ran door to door alerting his neighbours “to keep their doors closed”.
Speaking at his flooded home, he said: “When I opened my front door, it hit me so hard it drove me the whole length of the hallway.”
“The door just hit me so hard. It drove me back 12 feet,” added Mr Ryan, who is a former council water mains repair man.
His wife Jackie, standing in her destroyed kitchen, added: “We are devastated. Just shocked.”
In a statement Irish Water said it was carrying out repairs to a burst water main in the Kilmallock Road area of Limerick city which occurred at approximately 2.30am. “Supply has now been restored to all customers and the area has been made safe”.
It said as a result of the incident, water entered approximately 10 houses in the area. "Irish Water and Limerick City and County Council would like to apologise to all customers that this has impacted, particularly those whose homes were directly affected".
Several homes were soaked in a mixture of water and sewage causing many thousands of euro worth of damage.
Tired and sodden from their overnight ordeal, residents have begun throwing out destroyed furniture and personal possessions.
“I just woke up and heard water. I thought it was something leaking. I came down the stairs and I slipped on the stairs in the hall and fell,” Mr Ryan said.
“There was about four inches of water in the hall, and I saw water pouring in the door.”
“The sewer main couldn’t cope. The volume of water that would come down a 12 inch main (pipe) is colossal. That would have filled the sewer and the sewer then mixed with the water,” he added.
Residents praised the response of firefighters who pumped the stinking water from houses.
Several fire tenders attached to Limerick City Fire Service were assisted by crews from Cappamore.
It’s believed up to ten homes were damaged.
Exhausted, residents complained they were still waiting for officials to speak to them about a recovery plan for them and their houses.
“We were told we may not see anybody until Monday, but that’s not good enough, not with sewage. No one can give us a definitive answer. We’re waiting for a response,” Mr Ryan said.
When Elenor Considine said she awoke this morning to a river "gushing" through her newly renovated home.
Another resident described how at the height of the flooding, a sewer manhole was shaking violently “like an oil gusher” waiting to spew out its contents.
“I had to go to someone else’s house to wash my feet afterwards. We’re waiting for assessors now. Our houses are the lowest (lying) so they’re probably worst affected.”
“You can only imagine what went through the house. My shed is destroyed too. We’re waiting for people to come,” they added.
Niamh Counihan, who was in bed next to her seven-week old baby daughter Fiadh, could only look on as her baby mat and blanket was contaminated by the disgusting deluge.
“I heard our neighbour roaring and shouting so I looked out the window and saw the bin floating across the driveway. We ran downstairs and there was water everywhere,” she explained.
“We couldn’t open the front door so went out the window. The door couldn’t be opened as the water was up over or doorstep,” she said.
“Then we heard it was raw sewage. There is so much ruined. All the baby stuff that was near the floor is covered in sewage and is gone.”
“I have to get rid of everything. I have to move out and I’ve nowhere to go. My daughter is gone to my mother’s house for now but there isn’t enough room for all of us there. I don’t know what I’m going to do now until the house gets (cleaned),” Ms Counihan added.