High tide due at 11.30am as council crews continue to monitor situationA number of schools have closed for the day following advice from An Garda SíochánaMotorists advised to travel with extreme caution
Wexford County Council confirmed on Tuesday morning that due to flood water levels, Island Road, Templeshannon, Shannon Quay, Abbey Quay and the Promenade are all closed in Enniscorthy town. The N80 (Ryland Road) in Bunclody is closed, as well as Clohamon due to the River Slaney bursting its banks following persistent rain overnight. Edermine Bridge is also currently impassable, as is the R730 at the Irish National Heritage Park. Diversion routes are currently signposted.
Wexford County Council and civil defense crews have been deploying sandbags in affected areas early this morning ahead of high tide, which is expected at around 11.30am.
Speaking on RTÉ Morning Ireland, Sinead Casey, Head of Roads and Transportation at Wexford County Council detailed the danger posed to motorists.
The River Slaney has burst its banks in Enniscorthy.
“There is no connectivity across the town at the moment and everything is impassable around the river,” she said.
She explained that the council have had their workers on hand since as early as 10 p.m. yesterday – two hours before Storm Chandra was set to arrive.
“There is no easy intervention that could have prevented this earlier this morning. We expected the flood but it came slightly earlier than we expected, but we had all our men on the ground since 10 p.m. last night, got sandbags out and liaisoned with the relevant businesses and property owners. It’s just a matter of wait and see now – the River Slaney is still rising in Enniscorthy. Let it do what it is going to do.”
In terms of advice for road users in the area, she encouraged all motorists to avoid the area of severe flooding and make use of the motorway if necessary.
Flooding at the Still Pond in Enniscorthy.
“We’re lucky that the motorway is open and anybody travelling North and South from Wexford can use the motorway and get around Enniscorthy. There are diversion routes locally in Bunclody and all the transport operators are aware and are not operating as normal, but they have an alternative stop on the old N11 just North of Enniscorthy.”
“But the advise in general is for people to really just stay away from the flooded areas, don’t enter flooded water either by foot or drive through it. We have a good presence here on the Quays in Enniscorthy, but just in general we request people to travel with the utmost care,” she added.
A tree down in Davidstown, Enniscorthy.
A number of Enniscorthy schools including Coláiste Bríde, Enniscorthy Community College, St Mary’s CBS, Gaelscoil Enniscorthy, St Aidan’s Primary School, and St Patrick’s Special School have closed after following the advice of An Garda Síochana.
Castlebridge NS is also closed as there is no electricity.
There are also reports of a tree down and blocking the road on the way into Davidstown.
Public transport services including Wexford Bus are unable to serve commuters at the Enniscorthy stop and are urging people who need to travel to their Oylegate pick up spot or at the Main Road outside J Donohoe Motors in Quarry Park. Customers North of Enniscorthy may expect delays.
In a statement issued this morning, Enniscorthy-based Fine Gael Senator Cathal Byrne said it is “beyond scandalous” that Enniscorthy is yet again hit with flooding.
Flooding in Enniscorthy early Tuesday morning. Photo: Jo Murphy/Facebook
“I call for the Enniscorthy Flood Defence Scheme to be delivered for the town without delay,” said Senator Byrne.
Met Éireann has issued weather warnings for 13 counties, saying bands of rain from Storm Chandra will be “heavy and persistent”.
The Status Yellow rain warning for Carlow, Kilkenny, Louth, Wexford, Wicklow and Waterford are due to end at 11pm on Tuesday.
Some businesses outside Enniscorthy town are being cautious, including The Village at Wheelocks given that Tomnafunshoge is experiencing flooding just outside their entrance. However, the business has chosen to stay open as they expect the water to recede.
Flooding in Enniscorthy early Tuesday morning. Photo: Jo Murphy/Facebook
In South Wexford, the people in Bridgetown are anxiously watching the water levels on the canal. Parts of the village were submerged in November of last year, with the devastation of the Christmas Day flooding of 2020 all too fresh in their minds.
Now, once again, the villagers are left looking to the skies and hoping they will be spared.
“Two large industrial pumps have been deployed to the village and sandbags were handed out,” Aontú councillor Jim Codd said.
“I’d like to thank our district engineer and road crews for being proactive on that. We’re now thankfully over the spring tide, but the land is absolutely waterlogged. If we get the rain forecast, we could have very serious problems down here yet again.”
Having been on the scene assisting during recent flooding in the village, the Aontú councillor says that people cannot continue to live in fear any time heavy rain is forecast.
“We need to raise the banks of the canal here to save the village of Bridgetown, it’s as simple as that,” he said. “People’s lives have been destroyed over and over again here. It can’t go on.”
Cllr Codd said that heavy rain overnight had also caused significant damage to the roads of South Wexford.
“There has been extensive damage to the road network,” he confirmed. “Today will tell a lot in relation to that.”