The County Emergency Plan was activated in Co Meath yesterday as the damage inflicted by the storms became apparent. The worst hit areas were Dunboyne and Clonee where people had to be evacuated from their homes.
Last night the village centre in Dunboyne was under three feet of water and the advice from Meath County Council was "don't go there".
Severe flooding also hit Clonee and the bypass was impassable for a while yesterday morning.
One of the local industries affected was Kepak, the meat processors. A number of housing estates were in up to four feet of water. A small number of homes in both Dunboyne and Clonee were evacuated.
Navan town was largely unaffected while in Trim both Patrick and Loman streets were flooded and Watergate Street Bridge was closed to traffic.
As darkness fell, Meath County Council spokesman Mr Kevin Stewart said there was concern about the Boyne bursting its banks in the Bettystown/Mornington area. In anticipation of the worst, preparations were being made to provide emergency accommodation.
In nearby Julianstown, the River Nanny burst its banks and flooded the Old Mill Hotel. The Nanny was also causing concern in Duleek, where OPW officials were monitoring the water level in case it flooded the local Mill Race housing estate.
A number of secondary roads were impassable, including Duleek-Julianstown, Ashbourne-Ratoath, Dunboyne-Navan, Batterstown-Kilcoyne and the Dublin-Navan road at Clonee.
In Louth, the main flooding occurred along the coast between Drogheda and Termonfeckin, where a number of homes had to be evacuated and roads were closed.
In Clogherhead a disused trawler which was berthed in the harbour sank in the storms. The Drogheda-Slane road was closed and a number of minor roads were impassable. One of those hit by the floods in Drogheda was the town's mayor, Mr Frank Godfrey. He woke at 7 a.m. to find his 300-year-old cottage flooded. He said thousands of pounds worth of damage was caused. Commuters using Bus Eireann services to Dublin from Drogheda suffered significant delays, as did motorists, when flooding forced the closure of the N1 at Blakes Cross from early yesterday morning.
Elsewhere, trains between Connolly and Belfast ran with minor delays after a tree briefly blocked the line at Skerries. A number of schools in Co Meath closed for the day because of the weather.