Further danger as Shannon levels set to peak on Monday

Flooding levels on the lower Shannon are expected to peak this morning as further rain is forecast.

Rainfall values are expected to return to normal in the Shannon catchment area this week, but the ground is already saturated. Any further rain will make the clean up operation more difficult.

Levels on the mid to lower Shannon catch have continued to rise, with Banagher recording an increase in water levels yesterday of about 66mm (2½ inches).

Levels downstream from Athlone rose by two inches. Troops from Custume barracks in Athlone were deployed in flood relief as three more homes in Athlone were flooded on Saturday night. The Army and Naval Reserve were out in Limerick, Castleconnell and Clonlara.

The Minister of State at the Department of Office for Public Works, Simon Harris said everything that could be done was being done in Athlone but that concerns remained for 100 houses in the town.

Yesterday the ESB increased the discharge at Parteen Weir to 440 cubic metres of water per second to relieve the levels of flooding on Lough Derg.

Collateral damage

However, it anticipated that this decision would cause flooding in the areas of Springfield, Montpelier, Castleconnell, Mountshannon, Lisnagry and the

University of Limerick

.

Homeowners in the Corbally area of Limerick are counting the cost of further flooding. Several houses in Richmond Park were flooded and cars submerged after the canal burst its banks on Saturday night.

Locals believe the flooding could have been prevented and that the council should have anticipated it. In a statement Limerick City and County Council said it had struggled to open the lock gates on the canal because of the weight of water. Additional mechanical assistance had to be provided.

In Co Clare, St Flannan’s College in Ennis was flooded for the second time in a week.

The Office of Public Works (OPW) expects the peak of the Shannon from Lough Derg to Limerick city will occur today. However, it warned that any subsequent fall in levels was likely to be slow.

There was some respite yesterday as levels on the rivers Suck, Moy and Clare fell. There was also a small fall on the upper Shannon catchment at Boyle in Co Roscommon.

In Bandon, locals demanded that the environmental impact review on a €10 million flood relief scheme be reduced from eight weeks to two so work could begin on a relief scheme scheduled to start on May 1st.

Forecast

Met Éireann

forecaster

Deirdre Lowe

said coastal parts of the southwest would receive a lot of rainfall this week, especially Cork, Kerry,

Galway

and

Waterford

.

Further heavy rain is expected across the country tomorrow and Thursday. The long-term forecast up to next weekend is for it to remain mild and unsettled.

Met Éireann said rainfall levels last week were two and a half times higher than normal, following Storm Desmond which dumped 100mm of rain in many parts of the country.