South and west hit by worst floods in 20 years

THE worst flooding in two decades has destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses and devastated thousands of acres of farmland throughout the country, mostly in the south and west.

From Galway to Waterford, heavy rain, along with rising tides and gale force winds, has laid waste to homes, schools, businesses and farms.

Cork and Waterford took the brunt of the storms and saw rapidly rising waters.

Nicola Hudson, controller at Roadwatch, said: “More flooding is inevitable as fresh weather fronts batter the country.”

The AA yesterday advised that drivers in affected areas do not take to the roads unless necessary, as they will have treacherous road conditions, severe traffic delays and long detours to contend with.

“The AA breakdown service has been inundated by calls from the Cork and Galway regions, a huge majority of those calls are the result of flooded engines” said Ms Hudson.

“We strongly advise drivers to avoid driving through any floodwaters as it could be much deeper than it looks and you could do serious damage to your vehicle.”

Throughout the western seaboard, the scenario was grim. In Galway, already hit by floods over the past week, the road to Tuam was flooded, along with the Derrymullen road.

The Irish Farmers Association said the situation is probably worse than any other time in the past 20 years. An increasing number of farmhouses in north Co Galway are being cut off by rising flood waters.

IFA spokesman Roy O’Brien said the situation was extremely serious and there was growing concern that even larger areas will be affected as weather conditions deteriorate over the next few days.

Barry Donnelly, chairman of the IFA in Galway, said tens of thousands of acres of farmland lay under water. “People are getting very worried and a lot of livestock is stranded,” he said.

In Gort, Co Galway, locals marched in protest at the situation in the town, as raw sewage mixed with flood water which stood at almost two feet in height.

In Clonmel, Co Tipperary, residents and businesses braced themselves for more devastation as the River Suir rose and threatened to burst its banks.

“It is one of the worst floods we have seen in years,” said David Dolan, manager of the Bush Hotel in Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Leitrim.

Gardaí in Waterford also reported poor conditions in the city and county. In Co Clare, several parts of Ennis were also flooded, including the town centre. The roads to Ennistymon, Kilrush, Tulla and Corofin were badly affected by flooding.

Irish Rail passengers have been disrupted on many routes. A bus transfer was put in place between Limerick and Ennis due to a small landslide, while flooding also resulted in a closure on the Dublin to Sligo line between Carrick on Shannon and Longford. Another landslide caused the closure of the Wicklow to Gorey line and bus transfers are expected to be in place there until Monday week.

Dublin has escaped the flooding so far. Although blustery conditions brought down some trees, traffic has not been badly impacted, according to the AA.

The commuter counties of Kildare and Meath have had excess rainfall and spot flooding but not as bad as the west and south of the country.

A Met Éireann spokesperson said the current cycle of wet weather will continue over the weekend and into the first half of next week.

lIf you are planning a journey, check the weather forecast first with Met Éireann at www.meteireann.ie or get the latest road conditions and live traffic updates from AA Roadwatch on www.aaroadwatch.ie