LIMERICK:Householders living in low-lying areas along the river Shannon remained on high alert last night as the Defence Forces moved to sandbag homes in villages outside Limerick.
An interagency group, comprising the midwest local authorities (Clare County Council, Limerick City Council, Limerick County Council and North Tipperary County Council) and emergency services has warned of potential flooding along the lower river Shannon in the coming days. Emergency services were continuing to monitor the situation last night, in conjunction with the ESB at Ardnacrusha, which has been releasing water down the Shannon since Saturday morning to prevent severe flooding up-river.
Sandbags were distributed to people living in the low-lying areas of Montpelier, Mountshannon Road and Castleconnell over the weekend. Kathryn Hayes
ENNIS:Flood victims in Ennis rescued by boat last Friday said last night they don't know where they are going to spend Christmas.
Last night, Clare County Council was providing emergency shelter at the West County Hotel in Ennis to 108 people - many of them children - made homeless since early last Friday morning by the floods. Gordon Deegan
SOUTHEAST:All three major rivers in the southeast - Barrow, Nore and Suir - remain dangerously high and have burst their banks in many places. Thousands of acres of farmland are waterlogged and a number of towns remain partially flooded, with Clonmel and Carlow the worst affected. The local authorities and emergency services said they will continue to be "on high alert", with further rainfall forecast over coming days. Surveying the flooded streets yesterday morning, Carlow Town engineer Brian O'Donovan told The Irish Times that long-anticipated flood relief works on the Barrow would start next year. He said the local authority "hopes to sign contracts in the New Year", but that the work would take "about three years to complete". Michael Parsons
LEITRIM/ROSCOMMON:Home owners and local authority officials in counties Leitrim and Roscommon were bracing themselves as the river Shannon continued to rise last night.
Houses in Leitrim village and in Carrick-on-Shannon had to be evacuated over the weekend. Local gardaí said that Carrick was "practically marooned" as some roads to the town were closed. Marese McDonagh