Floods force evacuation of houses in Cork

Heavy rains early this morning caused severe flooding in parts of Cork City and forced people to be evacuated from their homes.

The worst-affected areas were the Greenwood Estates in Togher and Blackpool in Cork City. In some places, the water was nearly four feet high.

The Cork City Fire Brigade responded to hundreds of calls from midnight to help residents cope with the flooding.

At one stage a taxi driver and his passenger had to be rescued after he had driven into the flood waters and become stranded.

Cork City Council said all resources have been deployed to help alleviate the problems.

The city council's drainage department is looking at particular problems being experienced in Blackpool, an area traditionally prone to flooding. The city council's waste operations department is involved in the clean-up of the area.

A spokesperson for Met Éireann said 40mm of rain fell in the Cork area throughout the night, causing the floods. The usual monthly rainfall for Cork City is 111 mm.