Burst pipe havoc in Dublin's Brown Thomas

No one was hurt in the flood which tore through Brown Thomas on Dublin's Grafton Street yesterday. But one might have thought otherwise from the long faces outside.

"Oh my God, I hope the shoes are OK," cried one young woman, leaning over some security tape for a better view. Another shrieked with giddy horror when she pressed her face against a water-streaked window, spotting the drenched Mac and Lancome cosmetics counters inside. A Georgio Armani price list, floating in a puddle next to them, gave a clue to the cost of the flood, expected to run into millions of euro. One item on the list was priced €1,400.

"There is a serious amount of money involved," said the shop's managing director, Mr Paul Kelly. "With this sort of thing everything is affected, carpets, floors, electrics. The insurance people are in at the moment, and it'll be days before we know the full extent of the damage.

"Luckily, though, we got all our customers and staff out without any injuries. Once people are safe - that's the important thing." Of course. But the really important thing - and the question on everyone's lips - was: Will this lead to a clearance sale?

Mr Kelly wouldn't be drawn, and last night a spokeswoman for the company said she "can't see it happening", although a final decision on the matter had yet to be made. She noted the damage was not as bad as first feared, adding all the women's clothes sections were untouched.

The drama began shortly before noon when a water pipe broke on the first floor where a new women's fashion area, due to open in a fortnight's time, was being built. "We don't have full information yet," said Mr Kelly. "But someone either hit or put something through the main pipe and water came from every angle." Or, as one construction worker who was in the room at the time put it: "It was pandemonium. Once the pipe was open we couldn't plug it. The water came tumbling over us."

The cosmetics area on the ground floor took the brunt of the deluge. The men's modern fashion area, directly below on the lower ground floor, was also badly hit. The Dublin Fire Brigade helped to evacuate the building, and along with city council engineers, succeeded in turning off the water mains. Despite this, water continued to flow through the pipe, now redirected through a first-floor window overhanging the street, until 1 p.m.

By late afternoon, the drama had spawned its own set of urban myths. Some people claimed to have fled the changing rooms in expensive outfits. Others later claimed to have smelt perfume in the local water supply.

The one certainty is that the shop will be crowded with hopeful bargain-hunters this morning. The shop intends to reopen at 9 a.m.