Communities battle new flood threat

PARTS of Cork resembled a war zone last night as communities piled up thousands of sandbags in an effort to hold back the flood waters.

In Fermoy, a major flood alert was declared last night amid fears that a disaster equal to that of last November was about to unfold. Officials said Blackwater flood waters were not expected to peak until the early morning today.

Among the areas under severe threat of flooding were Brian Boru Square, O’Neill Crowley Quay, Mill Road and Rathhealy Road.