Tag Archives: flooding

FLOOD-hit residents in South-East Clare are “living in hell” and are “living in fear” of more flooding, a local Dáil deputy has claimed. The devastation caused to several households and farmlands in Springfield, Clonlara was highlighted in the Dáil this week by Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne when she presented a case for the establishment of one single body to manage the River Shannon. Commenting on the River Shannon Management Agency Bill, Deputy Wynne warned flooding is becoming too regular and must be tackled with timely action rather than “more kicking the can further down the road”. Last February, she recalled several households and farmlands were destroyed or severely impacted due to flooding in South-East Clare. “One man in Clonlara was quoted as saying “I am living in hell”. For him it has become a very common life event. While many people have commented on the ways we can tackle flooding along the River Shannon, I believe that one of the most …

“OUTRAGEOUS flooding” on land and roads in East Clare was discussed with council officials at the most recent meeting of the Killaloe Municipal District. Cathaoirleach, Councillor Pat Hayes tabled a motion proposing a planned programme of drainage works for the River Grainey and its catchment area. “We need to take the bull by the horns on this,” he said. “The river is 40 to 50 miles long and the lack of drainage is now coming home to roost on the roads around Feakle and Tulla, especially around the likes of Derrynahila. I have called previously for a single authority to deal with drainage. Some good work has been done in the past, but not for a long time on the River Grainey. If we don’t act we’ll end up having to raise the roads in places like Ayle, Core and Caher.” The Fianna Fáil members pointed out that the River Grainey is also an important amenity in terms of recreation …

Met Éireann has issued a status yellow wind and rain warning for Clare and a number of other counties as Storm Francis moves in over the country tonight. Weather warnings in place for strong winds and heavy rainfall from Monday evening into Tuesday. The public are advised to exercise caution on exposed areas including along the coast. As consequence of Storm Francis moving into the South West, Met Éireann are forecasting that weather will turn very wet and windy early this evening with some torrential downpours and possible flooding. This weather is forecasted to continue into Tuesday as Storm Francis crosses the country with further heavy falls of rain and the continued risk of flooding. Very windy or stormy conditions are expected on Tuesday and southwest winds veering westerly, reaching mean speeds of 55 to 65km/h, will bring widespread severe gusts of 90 to 110km/h. Some disruption is likely with possible structural damage.  

Met Eireann has issued a Status Orange Wind Warning for Clare and six other counties as Storm Ellen tracks in over the country tonight and during Thursday bringing a period of potentially damaging winds. Severe gusts are likely and there is a risk of some disruption. Due to the combination of storm surge, spring tides and onshore winds there is a potential risk of coastal flooding. The weather warning is valid from 9pm tonight until 12 noon on Thursday. The warning covers other coastal counties of Mayo, Galway, Limerick, Kerry, Cork and Waterford.

GAMMA Location Intelligence, which provides map and data analysis to insurance companies and local authorities for risk assessment purposes, has revealed that 7,376 Clare homes and 1,320 commercial premises are at heightened risk of coastal flooding by 2050, due to climate change. In absolute terms Clare would be the county with the third highest amount of addresses affected,behind Louth and Dublin, but in terms of the proportion at risk it would be second highest, at 13.3%, only behind Louth. The findings are based on a predicted global temperature increase of two degrees celsius. This increase would cause sea levels to rise and bring about more extreme weather events, leading to higher and more frequent coastal flooding. Richard Cantwell, Senior Spatial Data Scientist, Gamma Location Intelligence, said: “Global warming is already having an impact on our daily lives, but the effects of it will become more tangible and extreme in the years to come. “With increasing global temperatures, sea levels are …

The railine between Limerick and Ennis reopened from first service this Tuesday morning. The line had been closed since late February due to flooding at Ballycar in Newmarket-on-Fergus.  Iarnród Éireann is advising customers that due to Covid-19 a revised timetable is in place and only essential travel is permitted. For those who must travel, they should check www.irishrail.ie before travelling for times. The railway track at Ballycar Lough has flooded on a number of occasions in recent years. This flooding has led to temporary closures of the railway line for extended periods of up to 20 weeks at a time, although this closure was not as prolonged. Flood waters rose to a maximum height of 1.6 metre above the railway track during some flood events, despite works, which saw Iarnród Éireann  raise the track level by 60 centimetres at Ballycar in 2003 to mitigate against the effects of flooding. This time flood waters reached 1metre above the track. Work is ongoing on …

LIVING with the constant threat of her home being flooded had worn down Brigid Kinsella by Monday afternoon. A widow, she lives with her three sons at Springfield. Hundreds of sandbags are placed all around their home and she says she would now like to move away from the area, so disillusioned is she. On Saturday night the area around her house was underwater, with the floods coming right up to the sandbags, which were the families last hope of keeping their home dry. “For two weeks basically we’ve had no sleep in this house. I have three sons going to college, one of them in his last year. I went to bed last night (Sunday) and I said if it comes in I really don’t care, I can’t go another night without sleep. It actually had receded a lot down here this morning. It was so bad that my son sent an email to the council to know about …

RESIDENTS in South-East Clare have been evacuated from their homes after rising flood waters cut off access to their dwellings. Two families in Springfield, Clonlara, had to be assisted from their homes on Sunday as the road close to their homes is now impassable. At least ten houses in the Springfield area are at risk of flooding following huge volumes of rainfall in recent weeks and a prediction of between 20 and 25 millimetres of rain on Sunday night. More than 7,000 sandbags and pumping stations have been delivered to houses in the locality as part of a flood management plan being implemented by Clare County Council. Residents are facing a very difficult battle as flood waters have risen by five and a half inches over a 12-hour period from 9am on Sunday. It is estimated that flood waters were rising by half an inch on Sunday night. Speaking to the Clare Champion, resident Geraldine Quinlivan was distraught as she …