Shannon residents prepare for floods

RESIDENTS along the Shannon are being told to prepare for floods as heavy rainfall is set to push the river level over the tenyear flood mark on Tuesday.

A status yellow rainfall warning comes into effect at 8pm tonight until 8am tomorrow for the midlands and north west.

The counties affected are Cavan, Monaghan, Donegal, Longford, Louth, Offaly, Westmeath, Meath, Clare and Tipperary, with accumulated rainfall of up to 25mm, possibly more in elevated areas.

Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran, the caretaker junior minister with responsibility for the Office of Public Works, told RTÉ he couldn’t guarantee that homes would not be flooded, but insisted that authorities along the Shannon from Cavan to Limerick are on high alert, with preventative measures including flood barriers and water pumps in place.

Mr Moran tweeted a video of himself yesterday up to his waist in floodwater in Athlone, putting an emergency pump in place.

‘Everything is being done to defend people and property as we prepare for any flooding eventualities in the coming days with sandbags, aquadams and pumps all in place – keep safe,’ he said.

There has already been some flooding in the Shannon Harbour area of Co. Offaly, while some regional roads in Mayo and Galway were underwater yesterday.

Met Éireann said tonight’s rain ‘is likely to be preceded by a period of snow in parts of Connacht, Ulster and north Leinster’.

‘As the ground is saturated at the moment and river levels are elevated the combined effect of rainfall and snow melt may lead to some localised surface and river flooding,’ the forecaster warned.