THE WEST:SOME OF the most intense and sustained rainfall in 30 years has caused widespread flooding in the west, damaging homes and businesses and cutting off parts of Connacht from the rest of the country.
East and south Galway have been worst affected, and Iarnród Éireann was forced to close the Dublin-Galway rail line between Athenry and Ballinasloe yesterday due to flooding on the track.
Road transport was also severely disrupted on both main and secondary routes.
Met Éireann said the region has experienced up to four times normal rainfall for this time of year.
There were calls for the Defence Forces to assist gardaí, local authorities and emergency services in dealing with flooded homes, businesses, and abandoned vehicles.
Meteorologist Frank Gaffney described the rainfall as “exceptional” for November in Galway, with 238.7mm to date and with 12 days in the month to go – compared to the wettest on his records for the entire month, at 211mm in 2002.
“There is no evaporation as humidity is very high,” he told The Irish Times.
“Some 60.8mm of rain was recorded in Galway on Tuesday of this week, he said.
A precautionary boil water notice was issued by Galway County Council in consultation with HSE West for Ballinasloe due to the local authority’s concern about untreated water affecting the public drinking water supply.
The notice was also extended to nine group water schemes in and around Ballinasloe and east Galway.
Civil Defence personnel were deployed in Ballinasloe to assist with businesses and residents.
Residents and business people in Gort in south Galway closed their town to traffic, after repeated appeals had been made to the Garda and local authority to do so. Up to two feet of water in Crowe Street was exacerbated by continuous heavy rainfall.
A 4km stretch of the N17 Galway-Tuam road was closed to traffic, due to flooding at Two Mile Ditch, Castlegar, and there was flooding at Derrydonnell on the N6 and on the N18 near Oranmore.
Road stretches were also affected between Galway and Headford and between Tuam and Milltown – causing long traffic tailbacks for most of the day on northern, southern and eastern approach routes, and in and around the city.
Galway County Council acting director of road and transport services Evan Molloy said the major flooding across the county was of an intensity that he had not witnessed in several decades.
“The big problem is that there is nowhere for rising water levels to go,” he said.
The river Clare burst its banks in Claregalway, and there was flooding at Ballyglunin Bridge on the N63 to Roscommon, and on the N65 between Loughrea and Portumna.
Galway Independent councillor Jim Cuddy said more frontline local authority staff needed to be re-employed “immediately”.