A burst water main caused about 10 homes to flood with sewage in Limerick, Ireland, early Saturday morning, the Limerick Leader reported.

The Limerick Fire Brigade responded after the main broke around 2:30 a.m. Firefighters aided residents until 6:45 a.m. by pumping water out of victims’ homes, earning praise for the fast response, according to the Limerick Leader.

“When I opened my front door, [the waste water] hit me so hard it drove me the whole length of the hallway. It was like a tsunami,” Adrian Ryan told the Irish Mirror after his house was flooded with sewage. “The door just hit me so hard, and drove me back 12 feet.”

Ryan is a former water mains repairman.

“The sewer main couldn’t cope. The volume of water that would come down a 12 inch main [pipe] is colossal,” he told the Irish Mirror. “That would have filled the sewer and the sewer then mixed with the water.”

“We are devastated at the minute. Just shocked,” Ryan’s wife said.

Elinor Considine and her husband had recently renovated their home for their daughter’s wedding. While the wedding had already taken place, the home and pictures taken during the ceremony were ruined.

“At least we can replace [the pictures], but [our home] is destroyed,” Considine told the Irish Mirror. “The water was just gushing through the house, just flowing through. It came in the vents and under the front door.”

Irish Water, the utility company responsible for the water main, was criticized for its lack of response following the accident, with one local politician calling the company’s silence “shocking,” according to the Limerick Leader.

“We were told we may not see anybody until Monday, but that’s not good enough, not with sewage,” Ryan told the Irish Mirror.

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