MOTORISTS FACING flooding have little hope of urgent remedial works on the State's roads as authorities argue over responsibility for dealing with the heavy rainfall.
According to Met Éireann, the weather will deteriorate this afternoon when the remains of hurricane Hanna is forecast to make landfall. Met Éireann is predicting up to 50mm of rain, along with strong winds, while the outlook for the coming days is for unsettled and changeable weather.
The forecast follows severe flooding in Cork and Galway yesterday which in turn followed record flooding, and which saw cars abandoned and roads closed in Dublin in August. However, while Dublin motorists again faced blocked roads yesterday morning, Dublin fire officers said they have not been provided with the necessary equipment to fight floods.
At the same time the city council appeared to blame Met Éireann for recent flooding, alleging the rainfall warnings were not adequate.
The National Roads Authority said it was installing a new drainage system on the M50 in conjunction with the €1 billion upgrade, and the contractor would have emergency pumps on standby over coming days.
The drainage network could not cope with the amount of rain that fell, assistant city manager Matt Twomey said. The council said Met Éireann had not advised of the extent of the flooding.
The lack of unanimity coupled with inadequate public transport is likely to leave motorists vulnerable to renewed flooding over coming days, particularly as fire officers said high-powered flood pumps, such as the one used to clear 4.57 metres (15ft) of water from an underpass in Belfast last month, are not available anywhere in the State.
