More floods feared as rain set to continue in Leinster

Flood waters are slowly clearing in the east of the country and many roads have reopened but Met Éireann is warning of more heavy rain and rising tides this evening and overnight which could cause further flooding.

Residents of Little Pace in Clonee are taken from their houses by Army and Fire men during today's extensive flooding. Photo: Alan Betson.

Evening traffic is moving reasonably on the M50 this evening but many roads in north county Dublin are still impassable. Waters on the N3 and N7 have begun to subside and traffic is moving steadily.

All rail services ran this evening though there were delays around Maynooth and the Dublin-Sligo line. DART services between Malahide to Howth junction reopened earlier today, as did the rail link between Gorey and Enniscorthy.

Bus Eireann have now reinstated restricted services though delays of up to 2 hours can be expected on routes using the N1 N2 and N3. They say routes outside a 50-mile radius of the capital are running as normal though there may be some delays on routes emanating form Dublin.

While the rain is clearing in most parts of Ireland this evening, the area worst affected by yesterday's weather - Dublin and its surrounding counties - will not see the rain clear until dawn.

A spokesman for Met Éireann said a further 10 to 15 millimetres of rain is expected before tomorrow morning. Ninety millimetres of rain have fallen in Dublin since Wednesday evening, more than the average monthly total.

High tides, which are expected in Dublin at 8.54 p.m. may cause further flooding if rivers burst their banks, the spokesman added.

The rest of the weekend is expected to be drier and colder, allowing some respite to some of the worst flood-stricken areas of counties Dublin, Kildare, Wexford, Wicklow and Meath.

Householders are also counting the cost of the adverse weather this morning. Hundreds of houses in Glasnevin in Dublin were flooded and this evening over 1,500 houses in the area are without electricity.

The River Tolka burst its banks again this evening leading to the evacuation of 100 people in the Clonliffe Road area.

Many houses and several commercial properties in Co Wexford were also damaged.

Several shops and houses in Arklow, Co Wicklow, were also hit by flooding. The Brook, Lower Main Street and Tinahask on the southside, and Dublin Road and Worsborough Terrace on the northside were among the areas affected.

Labour's Mr Joe Costello said Dublin's northside was in the middle of a natural disaster and called on the Government to implement swift emergency measures.

"Roads are closed, families have been evacuated from their homes, and houses are up to several feet in water. The situation is ten times worse than when the Tolka burst its banks in 1954," he said.

Former taoiseach, Mr John Bruton, who lives in one of the worst affected places, Dunboyne, Co Meath, this evening called for extra funding to made available to Meath Co Co to help the relief effort.

He said planning permissions had exacerbated the situation for a town susceptible to flooding and that while a drainage scheme for the Tolka Basin was planned, work had not yet begun.

"In Dunboyne, many people now cannot get to homes. They do not know where they will sleep tonight. The entire village is cut off by flooding. The Red Cross do not know how much money they will have available to relieve the distress in the medium term, but in the short-term people in Dunboyne have literally nowhere to go," he said.

He was speaking after the Office of Public Works announced a humanitarian aid programme to be administered by the Red Cross.

In Wicklow, south of Glen of the Downs a small landslide has now been cleared from the N11, and a river has burst its banks at Kilcoole, Co Wicklow.

In Kildare, the Clane-Celbridge road is impassable as is the village of Straffin. There is also bad flooding on the N7 on the Monstereven side of Kildare town.

The Garda has named the following roads causing problems to motorists this evening:

N3 road at Blanchardstown is now open both directions.
N2 at Kilshane cross is still blocked. (main Dublin Ashbourne rd)
N4 is clear.
N1 (Swords rd) is slow but passable.
Richmond Road and Philipsburgh Road blocked. People being evacuated from homes at present.
Millmount Ave Blocked.
Botanic ave blocked as is its junction with Mobhi Road.
Drumcondra Rd open but slow.
Ballycoolin Road Snugboro to Rathoath closed and Rathcoole road blocked.
River road closed but Blackhorse rd now reopened.
Estuary Road Swords and all back roads blocked.
All lanes of M50 now open.
All side roads around the Strawberry beds and Porterstown blocked.
Back road from Swords to Ashbourne closed at Rolestown.
Flooding at Corduff Park.
Clonliff Rd now open.
M50 Northbound reopened at Navan roundabout.
Bad flooding Ballyfermot / Chapelizod Road.