Cork city escapes high tide flooding as wind changes

Cork city tonight escaped a repeat of this week's flooding when high tide in the River Lee passed off without problems after the wind direction changed and flood waters from the Lee Valley briefly breached the quay walls as it flowed through the city.

Cork City Council had warned traders and others living in low-lying areas of the city centre of the threat of flooding along Morrisson's Island, French's Quay, Wandesford Quay as well as on to the South Mall with a high tide and storm surge expected to reach 2.6 metres

But the combination of high tide and storm surge reached just 2.44 metres - just 4cms above the quay walls on the South Channel resulting in just minor road flooding on Morrisson’s Island and Wandesford Quay with the rest of the city centre escaping unscathed.

City centre traders had been taking precautions from early afternoon availing of offers of gel bags from Cork City Council while builders providers, Brooks Haughton distributed some 300 sandbags gratis to the grateful business people along Oliver Plunkett St and side streets.

Meanwhile ESB Networks crews were working throughout today to restore power to some 28,000 customers in the southern region left without electricity due falling trees but they were hampered by high winds which brought down further trees and broke lines.

ESB Networks Southern Divisional Manager Denis Cambridge told The Irish Times that around 1,200 crews were working across the Munster area to restore power to homes and businesses but in some cases, repaired lines had been knocked out again.

“We have had a number of new faults today - we had trees down in Mallow which knocked out Mallow and in Parkgate in Douglas in Cork city for example, we had two trees came down on a line that we had rebuilt yesterday,” he said.

As of 6pm today, 3,000 customers in Bandon were without power while the equivalent figures for Dunmanway was 5,500 , 6,000 in Fermoy and Mallow, 5,000 in Killarney, 3,500 in the greater Waterford area, 800 in Cork city, 2,500 in Clonmel and 2,000 in Portlaoise.

Mr Cambridge said that ESB Networks hoped to restore power to a further 13,000 by 9pm tonight, leaving 15,000 in the Southern Region without power overnight with the hope having power restored to another 3,500 on Saturday and another 3,500 on Sunday.

The power outages had an impact on water supplies with many pumphouses knocked out of action and this evening Clare County Council confirmed that.power had been restored to treatment plants and reservoirs in all but two areas.

The two exceptions were the Gallows Hill area of Cratloe in southeast Clare and Cloonlaheen North in West Clare but the local authority, operating as agents of Irish Water, was providing tankered water to the affected areas until supplies are restored.

Meanwhile Iarnród Eireann was forced to close Waterford Station due to flooding leading to the cancellation of services with bus transfers to Kilkenny while the Limerick-Ennis line will remain closed for the foreseeable future due to heavy flooding on the line.