When floodwaters rise, it’s easy to forget how important it is to wear high-quality waterproof footwear to avoid drowning in them.
But when the seas rise, they can become deadly for the uninitiated.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Elten, one of the worst flooding disasters to hit the country in decades, many people in the southern parts of the country, particularly in the capital, Limerick, opted to leave their shoes in the house, or in a car.
“I went from my house to the back of my car and said: ‘You know what, I’m not going to be around for much longer, I’ve got to go back to my house’,” says Joanna Loy, who lives in Limerick and was travelling home from work when the floodwaters surged.
“So, I was driving around with my daughter, my wife, my two daughters.
We decided to get the shoes in.
They were all in the car and I said to my daughter: ‘What are you doing, you’re wearing those shoes!'”
Joanna is now a member of the group Save Our Shoes, which is now encouraging people to return to the home and get their shoes fitted before heading back out.
“When it comes to getting out, I think it’s important for people to make sure they have waterproof footwear on at all times, otherwise they’re going to end up going swimming in them,” she says.
“You have to be careful, because if you don’t wear your waterproof shoes, you will become a victim of this.” “
The shoes’ popularity was in marked contrast to the popularity of the water-resistant boots that were popular at the time. “
You have to be careful, because if you don’t wear your waterproof shoes, you will become a victim of this.”
The shoes’ popularity was in marked contrast to the popularity of the water-resistant boots that were popular at the time.
“The majority of people who were wearing these boots at the peak of Elten had not even heard of Elndes’ flood,” says Loy.
“Many people were wearing the boots as they were walking around the city, which meant that there were not many people wearing them.”
As the floodwater receded, so did the demand for waterproof footwear.
“People were using these boots for a lot of different reasons, but they were mainly for walking and for being on the go,” says John Glyn, a lecturer in civil engineering at Trinity College Dublin.
“In that sense, Elten was very much an event in the history of footwear.”
But as the country struggled through the aftermath, a number of companies came out with waterproof footwear, some designed specifically for the flooding.
And while they were widely embraced, there were some who argued that the water was getting to the shoes, and they had to be waterproof in order to stay dry.
And some people argued that they were actually making the shoes waterproof in a way that was damaging to their feet.
“If the water got to the boots, it was actually putting more pressure on the skin,” says Glyn.
“That is to say, they were making the rubber less flexible and less elastic.”
“There was a debate in the early 1900s as to whether waterproof shoes were good for you, and there were actually people who argued they were good in terms of protection,” says Professor John Murray, an expert in the field of footwear design.
“Waterproofing a rubber is to reduce friction. “
That’s the definition of friction reduction. “
Waterproofing a rubber is to reduce friction.
You will be able to get your feet wet, and you will not get wet.” “
One of the major problems with the water is that it gets to your shoes, but if you are wearing waterproof shoes you will be less likely to get wet in the water.
You will be able to get your feet wet, and you will not get wet.”
But some people were not convinced that waterproofing a product made from rubber was worth the risk of a rubber-filled boot sinking to the ground, and some people even began to complain about the high cost of the waterproofing materials, as they came from overseas.
“Even if you have bought a waterproof boot for your house, you can buy a cheaper waterproof boot and buy them from a shop that does not have waterproofing in their shop,” says Murray.
“Some of the other problems are the fact that you have to have a high pressure hose, which has to be put on top of the rubber so it does not slip off the rubber.”
This is where the rubber is.
When you get your boots on, you are in fact removing a layer of rubber that has been made of rubber.
But you can’t actually get rid of the