Further flooding is feared as rivers continue to rise

More flooding is feared in the east and south of the country today, even as the worst rains to hit Ireland since Hurricane Charlie in 1986 begin to ease.

Families were evacuated yesterday from their homes in Clonmel, Co Tipperary, and Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, where the rivers broke their banks, causing the worst flooding for decades.

Houses were abandoned too in Arklow, Co Wicklow, where the town was cut off by flood waters. Hundreds of households, mostly in Leinster, were without power overnight as ESB repair teams worked around the clock.

Dublin Corporation activated its major emergency plan for the city last night, as the city's main rivers threatened to overflow. Homes were evacuated in Drumcondra when the Tolka breached its banks and there was flooding too at a number of points along the Liffey.

With the Liffey basin already overflowing, the ESB was forced to release water from the Poulaphouca reservoir, where a company spokesman said water was flowing in at a rate of 66,000 gallons a second.

In an incident which appeared to be caused by the weather, a woman was killed when she was struck by a heavy gate on a farm in Kilkenny yesterday afternoon. The Garda Press Office said the 68-year-old woman was accompanied by her husband when the accident happened at Sugarstown, Thomastown, Co Kilkenny, at about 3.15 p.m.

Met Eireann said rainfall in Dublin on Sunday night and Monday morning broke records for November. The weather station at Baldonnell Aerodrome measured 103 mm - about 4 inches - in an 18-hour period ending at noon, almost twice the previous highest for November, in 1996.

The forecasters said the heaviest of the rain had fallen by yesterday afternoon, but persistent rain would continue in the east of the country through the night and well into today, exacerbating the flooding. Tomorrow and Thursday will offer some respite from the rain, Met Eireann said, but another rain belt could be hitting the country by the weekend.

At this morning's Cabinet meeting, Ministers will update the Taoiseach on damage caused.

Meanwhile storms have continued to cause havoc across Europe. In the worst single incident, a family of six and a couple were killed in Montenegro when heavy rains dislodged rocks along a canyon road and brought them crashing down on their vehicles.

In Herefordshire, England, a tree fell on a car killing two passengers and leaving the driver seriously injured, while a separate incident in Devon claimed the life of a 13-year-old cyclist. Heavy rain and wind battered France yesterday killing two people and causing widespread damage.

Elsewhere, roads were closed in Portugal and dozens of flights were cancelled in northern Spain, while the desert emirate of Dubai had its first significant rainfall in 19 months as a powerful storm lashed the northern Gulf coast.

Although Malin Head escaped completely from the deluge, Northern Ireland was bracing itself for 24 hours of continuous rain and gale force winds last night with large parts of Counties Armagh, Down and Antrim affected by flooding and localised power cuts.

In the Republic, some 7,000 homes were without electricity during the day, mostly in the east, midlands, Cork, Kerry and Clare. The ESB said all available crews were deployed in the repair work and by teatime, the number of homes without power was down to about 1,000.

The Small Firms Association warned of huge losses to business as a result of the storms. The association's director, Mr Pat Delaney, said staff shortages and delivery difficulties had cost more than 50,000 man hours.