Those time-lines do not make sense to people like Midleton businessman Colin James, who created an early warning flood system alert for his town. He had the Midleton Early Warning System ready for public use within 16 months. Originally from New Zealand, which has a similar tsunami alert system, Mr James said he couldn’t believe there wasn’t already a flood alert system in place here. After Storm Babet devastated Midleton in 2023, the businessman decided to create his own personally-funded system. Residents in Midleton can sign up to the flood alert system here.