A clean-up operation is underway in parts of counties Wexford and Kilkenny after heavy rainfall overnight led to flooding that closed roads and impacted homes and businesses.
A status yellow rainfall warning for counties Carlow, Dublin, Kilkenny, Louth, Waterford, Wexford and Wicklow expired at midnight.
Council crews were assessing the impact of this latest round of inclement weather today.
The relevant authorities will now be hoping for a reprieve in the rainy conditions of recent days to allow river levels to go down, and the damage caused be fully inspected.
However, further unsettled weather is expected for most of the long weekend.
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Wexford
Wexford County Council said there were ‘accumulations of water on roads across the county’
Parts of south Co Wexford appear to have suffered worst from the late night/early morning conditions.
A number of properties flooded in Bridgetown despite Wexford County Council’s efforts to pump water since yesterday evening.
In Our Lady’s Island, lake levels breached the bank in the village, and the road there is flooded.
While in Enniscorthy, the quays have reopened to traffic after being closed for a time overnight, with just The Promenade now remaining closed due to flooding.
Wexford County Council said there were “accumulations of water on roads across the county” yesterday.
The council advised road users to travel “with extreme caution” over the next 24 hours.
“Even where rivers are not currently overflowing, the risk of flooding remains very high over the next 24 hours,” it added.
Kilkenny
Flooding in Thomastown, Co Kilkenny
Kilkenny County Council has said that a clean-up operation in the affected areas is now under way.
The Director of Services at Kilkenny County Council, Mary Mulholland, said last night was a “really difficult night” across counties Kilkenny and Carlow.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Saturday with Cormac Ó hEadhra, she said there were flash floods along roadways in the south of Kilkenny “where we’ve never seen water before”.
She said the rain has stopped this morning and many road issues have been cleared, but that the damage that has been caused is “so hard to deal with”.
She said that while water in the River Nore has “dropped significantly”, it is still rising in the Barrow.
“We had a number of people who left their homes yesterday evening,” she said. “They are small rural towns that are most affected… most of those people have family, friends, neighbours that they would move to in the event of a flood risk, so that’s what has happened,” she said.
“I’d say they’ll start returning later on today, but in Graiguenamanagh the quay is still completely flooded so there are a number of homes there that people won’t be able to get into until tomorrow afternoon at the earliest.”
Flooding in Graiguenamanagh on Friday
Ms Mulholland said the Red Cross is going door to door today in all impacted areas to make sure people are aware of the humanitarian assistance fund, while civil defence crews have also been out in recent days.
“Our crews locally – we’ve engineers and all our outdoor staff have been out morning, noon and night all week – they’re the people talking to homeowners and business owners where they need a pump, where they need sandbags, where they need assistance taking out stuff from their properties, all of that will be looked after on the ground,” she said.
“It’s been a really long week. We’ve had seven consecutive days of yellow weather warnings and that always comes to a peak for some reason when it’s dark. We’ve had people out every single night this week and yes, they’re exhausted.
“We have sunshine today and I don’t think we’ve ever been happier to see blue sky but then you start sweeping and you wonder when is this coming back again.”
The village of Inistioge has reopened to traffic while Thomastown has partially reopened following yesterday’s flooding after the rivers Barrow and Nore burst their banks.
Carlow
Flooding at Hanover Park in Carlow Town
Carlow County Council said the River Burren was almost at record levels this morning.
The local authority is now advising people living along low-lying parts of the river, which have been prone to flooding in the past, to move valuable items to upper floors and to be prepared.
Chief Executive of Carlow County Council CoilÃn O’Reilly has said: “We are doing everything we can but we are now approaching record river levels that are rising with more rain on the way.”
He added that crews have been working through the night to protect homes in the vulnerable areas of Carlow Town by pumping.
Mr O’Reilly said: “We continue to be on high alert for the rivers Burren and Barrow in Carlow Town.
“Crews continue to over pump in Tullow on the River Slaney and are prepared for another rise in levels today on foot of rainfall last night.
“Monitoring of the River Derry in Clonegal is continuing and additional sandbags were provided last night in the village.
“Our roads crews are responding to additional incidents where roads have been flooded, and they are closing roads where required,
“Again, we ask road users not to pass ‘road closed’ or ‘road flooded’ signs, and do not drive into flood waters,” he added.
Millrace Gardens, Burrin Road in Carlow
Waterford
Waterford City and County Council has said there is a lot of surface water and pooling on roads around the city and county this morning, particularly in the east.
Roads between Passage East and Dunmore East (the R683 and R684) are impassable due to flooding.
Meanwhile, a section of the R680 Inner Ring Road in Waterford City is also impassable this morning.
The council is advising motorists to slow down, increase braking distances, and be conscious of vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists.
ESB warns water levels rising in Poulaphouca Reservoir
Poulaphouca Reservoir / Blessington Lake (File image)
The ESB has warned about the impact of heavy rainfall on Poulaphouca Reservoir in County Wicklow and the consequences if water levels continue to rise.
In recent days, during heavy and prolonged rainfall, large volumes of water filled the reservoir, increasing levels by almost two metres.
In a statement, the ESB said that as reservoir storage is limited there may be a need to pass through some of these additional inflows over the coming days.
“This may increase the risk of flooding along the course of the River Liffey, in particular in the Clane and Newbridge areas. The situation will continue to be closely monitored.”
It said the Poulaphouca reservoir storage has played a “critical role” in mitigating the impact of recent rainfall on river levels downstream and has reduced the risk of flooding.
“Without the dam structures at Poulaphouca, this water would have proceeded through the Liffey from Wicklow into Kildare and ultimately Dublin, significantly increasing water levels all along the river over and above what has been already experienced.”
It said levels are continuing to rise following the rainfall in the last 24 hours.
The situation is being monitored with a series of meetings taking place between the ESB, the National Emergency Coordination Group, local authority teams, Met Eireann and other agencies to coordinate plans and a response.
The ESB said crews are on standby and preparing the necessary interventions.
It is advising anyone with concerns about flooding to contact their local authorities for further information.
Horse Racing cancelled
Horse Racing Ireland has said that following an inspection earlier today, the course at Leopardstown in Dublin was found to be unfit for racing due to waterlogging and the meeting scheduled for today is cancelled.
They said that this meeting now transfers to Monday, 2 February, and original declarations stand.
In order to allow Leopardstown to race on Monday, the Punchestown Meeting, originally scheduled for Monday now transfers to Wednesday 4 February with declarations to run to be made by 10am on Monday.
Officials at Leopardstown are “cautiously optimistic” about the chances of Sunday’s card going ahead.
Meanwhile, the Government is to increase the amount of money available to small businesses affected by Storm Chandra which cannot get flood insurance from €20,000 to €100,000.
It will be signed off by the Cabinet in the coming days, potentially during an incorporeal meeting before the weekly Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
Speaking in Cork this afternoon, Taoiseach Micheál Martin confirmed he would visit the areas in the south east affected by flooding over the coming days.
Read more: Government needs to look again at flood relief and response, says minister
Additional reporting: Karen Creed