Further gale and flood alerts issued

The Irish Coast Guard and Met Éireann have issued a weather alert of further gales and flooding this evening.

The Irish Coast Guard and Met Éireann have issued a weather alert of further gales and flooding this evening.

The coast guard strongly advises the public not to go out on exposed coasts, cliffs, piers, harbour walls, beaches, promenades or any other coastal areas during the inclement weather.

Huge waves can be whipped up by high seas which can pose hazards to anyone close to the shoreline, it said.

Met Éireann has also confirmed that there is also the potential for further coastal flooding in the south and southeast due to a combination of high tides, onshore gales and expected rainfall of up to 25mm. Severe weather such as this brings not only high winds, but the risk of heavy downpours and the potential for spot flooding, it said.

READ MORE

Irish Coast Guard Manager Declan Geoghegan said: “Do not attempt to cross fast running rivers or floods as they may be stronger and deeper than you think. Flooded urban areas can contain hazards such as submerged manholes and downed power lines. The combination of tides, gale warnings, high sea conditions and swollen rivers may result in very dangerous conditions.”

The Department of Transport, Tourism & Sport also advises anyone travelling this weekend to monitor weather broadcasts, and to heed the advice of the Road Safety Authority during severe weather and high winds.

Councils in Dublin and Cork earlier issued flood alerts for today as AA Roadwatch reported flooding in low-lying areas of Cork city, in parts of Kilkenny city and on the Gorey to Wexford Road.

While most of the flooding has now receded, motorists were warned to exercise care on the Coast Road in Mornington, Co Meath.

Dublin City Council had warned that today’s tide was predicted to be extremely high and above the council’s tide alert levels. Some flooding has been reported in Clontarf, where water came over the sea wall.

The council's flooding action group has taken a number of actions as a precautionary measure. Car parks at Sandymount Promenade and at Clontarf are closed, flood gates on the River Dodder will be closed for the weekend, flood defences on the River Tolka are being put in place, the Liffey Boardwalk is closed today and the Spencer Dock Flood gates have been closed.

Dublin City Council have a stock of sandbags for use in Sandymount and Clontarf.

Following this morning's high tide, a number of low lying areas in Cork city were flooded, but that flood water had now receded from South Terrace, Union Quay, Fr Matthew Quay, Morrison's Island, Wandesford Quay and Lancaster Quay. "Excess surface water remains a problem," it added.

One emergency worker told The Irish Times that the flooding was not as bad as expected as the south easterly winds which blow upstream of the River Lee and prevent water from discharging hadn't been as strong as feared.

"We were lucky - the strong south easterly winded didn't materialise so the water just lapped over the quay walls in low-lying areas and we didn't have the major back-up of water that was feared," he said.

There was also flooding reported in parts of coastal towns in the county including in Cobh, Bantry and Youghal.

Gardaí were also reporting excess surface water on all routes into Kilkenny city.

Cork City Council had urged householders and businesses to take precautionary measures to protect properties. It issued a flood warning for parts of the city centre over the next four days.

“A tidal surge and strong south to south easterly winds are predicted over the next number of days” with particular severity for this morning, it said.

Iarnród Éireann was forced to suspend train services from Waterford to Kilkenny city and Waterford to Carrick-on-Suir in Co Tipperary after flooding at Waterford station. A bus transfer has been put in place to accommodate people travelling between Waterford and Kilkenny and Waterford and Carrick-on-Suir, it said.