Councils on alert as further flooding feared

Local authorities throughout the southeast are on "flood alert" this weekend fearing that fresh rainfall could further swell the region's major rivers - the Barrow, Nore and Suir - causing renewed flooding.

Householders and businesses in the region, as well as other areas including north Cork, were yesterday counting the cost after flood waters began to recede and a clean-up operation began.

There were fears that weekend rainfall, forecast by Met Éireann, would cause further flooding in the southeast, south and midlands.

In south Tipperary, an emergency flood response committee has been established in Clonmel where the River Suir has burst its banks and flooded the quays and roads around the town.

The water level dropped yesterday by about eight inches but officials expressed concern about the forecast of more rainfall.

Town clerk Billy Doyle said water levels were being monitoring hourly and the committee would meet again tonight to assess the situation.

Garda Supt Eunan Dolan warned the public to stay away from flooded areas and said it was especially dangerous to wade through flooded streets as there were hidden dangers underneath and people risked becoming trapped in shores.

Gardaí diverted all heavy goods vehicles away from the town yesterday and a number of schools were closed. Homes and offices generally escaped damage,although a few houses were flooded.

The Defence Forces were assisting with operations in Clonmel, providing Army vehicles to transport people to and from the worst affected areas. Soldiers from Kickham Barracks were also deployed to fill and distribute sandbags.

Supt Dolan said 1,500 sandbags had already been distributed and a further 1,000 had been filled and were ready for use.

Minister of State Noel Ahern, who has responsibility for the Office of Public Works (OPW), visited the town to meet the emergency committee and to review flood defences.

The OPW is currently working on a multimillion euro flood relief scheme in Clonmel which, like an earlier scheme carried out on the River Nore in Kilkenny city, is designed to prevent future flooding of the town. Officials say the project is still at an early stage and will take a few years to complete.

In Carrick-on-Suir, a Garda spokesman said the town was not affected.

A spokesman for Kilkenny County Council said the emergency services had dealt with hundreds of calls and there had been an unprecedented demand for sandbags.

The council had been called out to 140 incidents over the last few days, he said. In the south of the county, the Nore receded somewhat yesterday and roads in Thomastown reopened.

In Carlow town, where the Barrow burst its banks, a number of streets were flooded, leading to considerable traffic disruption particularly in the Graiguecullen area on the Laois border.

Flood levels on the river Blackwater continued to drop from early yesterday and areas of Mallow and Fermoy that had been submerged in water overnight were reopened to traffic.

Some 20 premises had been flooded in Mallow in the Bridge Street area while some 30 premises in Fermoy on Brian Boru Square, Ashe Quay, O'Neill Crowley Quay and Mill Road were affected by flooding.

Met Éireann said up to 25mls of rainfall was expected to fall over the weekend, less than Thursday's total. However, with large areas already saturated, more flooding could be expected. Conditions are set to improve tomorrow.