Main Points
- Heavy rainfall due on Friday is expected to hit many of the same areas that were flooded on Tuesday, Met Éireann has said.
- Co Louth has been added to the yellow rainfall warning which was already in place for Carlow, Kilkenny, Dublin, Wexford, Wicklow and Waterford from midday.
- The national forecaster said there is a high likelihood that the conditions could lead to localised and river flooding.
Waterford City and County Council’s severe weather management team convened on Friday morning and is “actively monitoring the situation”.
Ground crews are on standby “to deal with any issues that may arise” such as localised flooding, blocked drains and gulley overflows, a statement from the council said.
In the event that sandbags are required, they will be available at the local authority’s machinery yards in Dungarvan and the depot in Carrickphierish in the city.
Members of the public can contact the council by calling 0818 10 20 20.
The council has issued the following advice:
- Stay away from swollen rivers, streams and flooded riverbanks – banks can collapse without warning
- Avoid open riverbanks and canal paths in flood conditions – water levels and currents may be far stronger than usual
- Avoid contact with floodwater where possible; it may be contaminated with sewage, chemicals or sharp debris
- Ensure your mobile phone is fully charged to enable communication
Andrew Doran Sherlock, a meteorologist with Met Éireann, has said there is “some uncertainty” regarding where the rainfall will move throughout the day, but the southeast is set to get “the largest amount”.
Speaking on Today with David McCullagh, Mr Doran Sherlock urged people to “pay attention to what the local authorities are saying, because they’ll have a better idea of which roads might be impassable or the on-the-ground conditions”.
He said that while there will be “some drier spells developing over the weekend, it’s not going to be settled by any means”.
“The latter half of Sunday is looking like the best of the weather for the weekend. But then, unfortunately, on Monday, while it will start out mostly dry, it looks like there is going to be further rain pushing up from the south.”
Roads are closed in a number of counties, including Wicklow, Wexford and Laois.
The latest updates will be on the social media pages or websites of local authorities.
If your home or business is impacted by flooding, you may be entitled to financial support from the Government.
The Emergency Response Payment is available to provide support to those living in properties directly affected by the storm.
This payment provides “immediate financial support to people whose homes are damaged by flooding or other severe weather events and who are not able to meet costs for essential needs, household items and, in some instances, structural repair”.
Separately, the Business and Community Flooding Support Scheme has opened to help small businesses and community groups impacted by flooding.
Read more details about both schemes here.
Flood warning in Laois
Laois County Council has issued a flood warning as the county braces itself for more heavy rain.
Simon Walton, director of services at Laois County Council, said: “We have high river levels throughout the county but obviously our key vulnerable areas are Mountmellick and Portarlington."
Speaking to Morning Ireland, he said there is “a palpable fear of flooding” in these areas in particular.
“I haven’t met one person yet who doesn’t want to see the flood relief scheme introduced, and the council holds similar views,” he said.
Mr Walton encouraged people to not attempt to drive on closed roads.
“We had to deploy the fire and emergency services to rescue two vehicles who ignored the road-closure signage, sought to drive through the flood and put themselves and, thereafter, our own fire and emergency crews at danger in terms of having to go in and rescue them.”
The National Emergency Co-ordination Group (NECG) is expected to meet again today.
“The NECG and response agencies will be closely monitoring the situation and preparing for the risk of further flooding over the coming days,” a statement from the group said.
“More heavy rain is forecast over the next few days and localised flooding will continue to be a risk due to saturated ground conditions and high river levels. The east, north-east and south-east of the country remain particularly at risk.
“The public should be aware that situations can change very quickly and even small amounts of rain could result in significant impacts in areas where river levels are high and/or where the ground is already saturated.
“Local response teams are monitoring the ongoing situation very closely, ensuring resources are in place and crews are on standby, and preparing necessary interventions.”
Wexford on ‘high alert’ for more flooding
Wexford County Council is on “high flood alert” in Enniscorthy and Bunclody in particular, the local authority’s CEO has said.
Eddie Taaffe told Morning Ireland the “period of danger” will continue for about 48 hours.
He said the council have distributed around 10,000 sandbags to homes and businesses since last Saturday.
As well as bracing for the impact of potential flooding on properties, Mr Taaffe said drivers need to take extra care as “there is going to be rainfall everywhere and difficult driving conditions”.
The council’s CEO said he was “very disappointed” by long-running delays in setting up a flood relief scheme in Enniscorthy, noting the process has been beset with planning issues.
Mr Taaffe said the council has been working with the Office of Public Works for years in a bid to get planning permission.
“We’ve broken the scheme up into two phases. We’ve tried to de-risk it in as much as possible from environmental concerns,” he said.
“Realistically, we are still even two years away from having planning consent for the first phase of the scheme.”
The Enterprise train between Belfast and Dublin is operating on a reduced timetable due to flooding on the line.
Bus transfers are in place between Newry and Belfast.
More flooding is expected, particularly in the east, south-east and north-east, as heavy rain moves across Leinster and east Munster on Friday afternoon and evening.
“Some thunderstorms are possible too,” Met Éireann has said.
“Scattered showers will continue in other areas. With saturated ground conditions and high river levels, further localised flooding is possible.”
Highest temperatures will range from 7 to 10 degrees.
Warning for drivers
There will be an increased number of Garda checkpoints on the roads over the bank holiday weekend.
Garda Supt Liam Geraghty has encouraged road users to take extra care and for all drivers to slow down.
“This weekend is going to be very, very challenging, right across the country, even if you’re outside of the counties which have yellow rain warning,” he told Morning Ireland.
“Everywhere around the country at the moment is very, very wet. Our roads are very wet and, because of that, there will be additional muck. There may also be debris from wind and trees and branches on our roads.
“So, the starting point is for everybody to slow down. If you’re driving at a slower speed, you have a better capacity to react to dangers on the road as they happen in front of you.”
Supt Geraghty also advised against driving through roads blocked with water.
“If you’re coming across a road that is blocked with water, don’t take the chance ... At very least, you may damage your vehicle with floodwater damage. At the very worst, you may not have to be rescued by the emergency services, who are already quite busy this weekend.”
Supt Geraghty warned people against using their phones while driving, saying this is a big distraction which can cause accidents.
He said gardaí have in the past also come across “men shaving, women applying makeup, doing all sorts of things behind the wheel of the car, besides concentrating on the actual driving”.
More flooding expected
Linda Hughes, a meteorologist with Met Éireann, said more flooding is expected in some areas today.
Speaking to RTÉ Radio’s Morning Ireland, she said: “We’ve had very high accumulations of rainfall in the past couple of weeks. And obviously we’ve seen the severe flooding in some places as well.
“There’s been no break since Storm Chandra and another spell of rain is coming in. So, while rivers did decrease, further rain on top of that now, again, is going to cause some further issues.”
In term of Friday’s weather, Ms Hughes said “another band of rain is expected to move up from the south east, and that will spread across most of Leinster and into eastern parts of Munster as well”.
The seven counties which will be under a status yellow rain warning from midday until midnight - Carlow, Dublin, Kilkenny, Louth, Wexford, Wicklow and Waterford - are expected to be worst impacted.
“Thirty or 40 millimeters in these areas, possibly a little bit higher than that, particularly over higher elevations,” Ms Hughes said.
“In mountainous areas, we could see some accumulations higher than that. This spell of rain will be a quite persistent spell of rain, rather than showers. So, it is going to be really a wet afternoon and evening right across the region.”
Yellow rain warning issued
Met Éireann has issued a status yellow rain warning for seven counties: Carlow, Dublin, Kilkenny, Louth, Wexford, Wicklow and Waterford.
The warning will be in effect from noon on Friday until midnight.
Further heavy rain and showers falling on already saturated ground, combined with high river levels, will lead to localised flooding and difficult travel conditions.
A yellow rain warning for Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Tyrone and Derry has been in effect since midnight. It will remain in place until 6pm on Friday.
Spells of heavy rain will lead to some transport disruption and flooding in places, the UK Met Office said.
As we brace for more rain today and over the weekend, researchers at Maynooth University have given some insights into Storm Chandra.
Climate change made the flooding earlier this week almost three times more likely to occur, analysts have told Caroline O’Doherty, our Climate and Science Correspondent.
The researchers said the high volume of rain that fell in the seven days up to and including Storm Chandra turned the heavy but “not particularly remarkable” rainfall into a “devastating” flood event.
They found the magnitude of the rainfall over the full week was 9 per cent greater than it would have been in the cooler Earth that existed before climate change.
“We would have expected similar seven-day rainfall to happen once in every 150 years,” they said.
Read their full insights here.
