Severe floods close main route as hundreds of acres of land is submerged

FLOODING at Glenflesk, near Killarney, resulted in the closure of the N22 national primary road between Cork and Tralee, last evening.

All motor traffic and Bus Éireann services between Cork and Tralee were being diverted via Millstreet.

For Cork-bound traffic that meant rejoining the N22 at Macroom and for Kerry-bound traffic rejoining the N22 at the Lissivigeen roundabout, outside Killarney.

Hundreds of acres of farmland in the Glenflesk area were under several feet of water, following heavy rainfall and cascading water from surrounding hillsides as snow thawed.

Falling trees brought down powerlines, leaving around 7,000 homes in the greater Killarney without electricity, but ESB crews who worked throughout the day had power restored to all but 500 homes by tea-time.

Scheduled services at Kerry Airport were also affected, with strong winds forcing the cancellation of the 6.30am Ryanair flight to Dublin and a five-hour delay in a flight to Frankfurt Hahn, which departed at 1.45pm.

Localised flooding was reported on roads throughout Kerry.

Several roads were closed last evening, including the Moll’s Gap road on the scenic route between Killarney and Kenmare; the Metal Bridge, Currow, and local roads in the Rathmore, Gneeveguilla, Glenflesk, Muckross, Ballyhar and Firies areas.

Traffic flow was reduced to one lane at Fossa, on the Killarney to Killorglin road, and traffic lights were in operation.

Kerry County Council warned drivers to take extra care as some roads still had patches of ice as well as new potholes caused by the severe frost.

The surface was reported to be cracking and in a dangerous condition on a section of the N70, on the Cahirciveen side of Kells Post Office.

Signage and traffic lights were erected in the area and traffic was advised to travel with care until repairs are carried out today. The road is part of the popular Ring of Kerry route.

There was also flooding in the Caherdaniel area, though roads were passable with caution. It was a similar situation with roads in the Killorglin and Scartaglin areas.

The Sneem to Kenmare road, between Blackwater Bridge and Tahilla, was closed until further notice. Earlier in the day, there was flooding at Loo Bridge, on the Killarney to Kilgarvan road, but it was passable with caution last evening.

Meanwhile, several primary and second-level schools in Kerry are due to re-open today, but dozens will not re-open until tomorrow, pending a review.