Floods, road and rail closures still causing suffering in midlands

Discharges of Shannon water over Parteen Weir in Co Clare are close to the highest levels recorded in the floods of December 2015, according to the ESB.

Following severe flooding which has closed railway lines and roads and left hundreds of thousands of acres of farmlands in the midlands underwater the ESB has repeated its insistence that its hydroelectric plant at Ardnacrusha is not contributing to flooding further upstream.

An ESB spokesman said the Shannon was a slow flowing river which falls just 15 metres over 200kms from Lough Allen, to Co Clare.

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Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Minister of State Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran seen during a visit to Athlone to examine the flooding last month. Co. Westmeath. Photograph: PA

A spokesman said 400 cubic metres of water per second were being discharged at Parteen, close to the highest level of 470 cubic metres per second recorded in 2015.

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Widespread flooding along the 360km Shannon and some of its tributaries has led to widespread flooding, with thousands of acres of farmland submerged, a number of houses and businesses cut-off by flood waters and some rail and road networks disrupted.

Roads closed

An estimated 30 roads along the Shannon were closed on Tuesday due to flooding.

Among these was the N65 between Portumna Co Galway and Borrisokane Co Tipperary, as well as the Borrisokane to Cloghan Road (R438) and the Nenagh to Terryglass Road (R493) at Ballinderry.

In Offaly the Shannon Harbour to Banagher Road L7014-1 is closed, as is the Crank Road L-7017-1 in Banagher and the R438 at Anglers Rest on the Tipperary/Offaly border.

Motorists have been advised to follow local diversions and to not to attempt to drive through a flood.

Transport Infrastructure Ireland said it was braced for further rainfall and advised motorists to be particularly careful of sudden hailstone showers in the midwest which a spokesman said “can leave you feeling like you are driving on ball bearings”.

Speaking from Co Galway where he visited farms affected by flooding, IFA President Tim Cullinan said the situation was “an indictment of the authorities, right up to the top levels of Government”.

He said “farm families deserved better than this.”

Train services

Irish Rail said bus transfers will continue to operate between Limerick and Ennis until further notice due to flooding on the line at Ballycar.

A speed restriction of 5km/hr is in place on the line between Dromod and Carrick on Shannon in Co Leitrim, which is being monitored constantly since water levels rose above the sleepers last week. Spokesman Barry Kenny said conditions had not worsened in recent days. He said a 25 km/hr speed limit was in place between Woodlawn and Ballinasloe in east Galway.

Forecast

Met Éireann said conditions over coming days would not be as severe as those experienced last weekend during Storm Jorge but it forecast further showers across the country with freezing conditions at night.

The Garda warned all motorists to “carefully consider” whether journeys, particularly at night time were absolutely necessary. The Garda said many potential hazards were caused by bad weather including ice on the roads, at the verges of roads, and salt which was sprayed on the roads in a bid to clear ice.

A Garda spokesman said motorists should carry out extra vehicle checks including checking the levels of fluids in screen washers as slat on the road can make windscreens opaque at critical moments.

Met Éireann said Tuesday and Wednesday would be cold in many areas with spells of persistent and locally heavy rain on Wednesday. Parts of the north and northwest will hold dry and the rain will transition to sunny spells and showers from the west by the Thursday afternoon. Some sleet and hill snow is possible for a time in parts of the midlands and west . The outlook is for conditions to stay cold and wintry at times through the next few days, but milder for the weekend.