Office of Public Works issue River Shannon level warning

Iarnród Éireann says that the Sligo/ Dublin Connolly service between Longford and Carrick-on-Shannon is expected to remain closed due to flooding until at least Saturday.

Clare County Council has been notified by the OPW that water levels will peak on Sunday night and into Monday morning with more poor weather forecast for the weekend.

Mike Hogan and his family evacuated yesterday afternoon as flood water in Springfield reached levels that was no longer safe to wade through.

A wind warning is in force for the whole of the country, and a rainfall warning is in place for Connacht and counties Donegal, Clare and Kerry.

The army is called in after flooding hits Bandon. Three areas along the river considered at high risk of further flooding will also have emergency drinking water points set up by the Red Cross: Athlone, Portumna and the Montpelier.

Large areas of Ireland are under water today after the deluge that was Storm Desmond.

The Council says a combination of anticipated heavy rainfall of up to 80 millimetres; elevated water levels in waterways; saturated ground, spring tides and strong winds is likely to result in localised flooding in many areas.

Ireland’s National Emergency Coordination Group held a meeting on Thursday.

He said the ESB was keeping the water at Parteen Weir as low as it could and that the only way to get more water through Ardnacrusha would be to raise that level of water, which would be counterproductive in terms of management of the overall system.

Water levels in the River Shannon are continuing to rise slowly and are being monitored by Westmeath County Council.

The Defence Forces said troops had been deployed to support flood response work in four counties and remained on stand-by to help in other areas.

Soldiers are working with residents, local authority workers, the Civil Defence and fire fighters to try and save as many properties as possible from the impending floods.

“We understand waves at sea are quite high now, safety on roads and those affected by waters is still a concern and safety on farms and flooded lands is (too)”.