Final damage bill could top €1bn as the floods move east
Related Articles
FLOODING chaos spread from west to east last night after heavy rainfall brought water on the River Liffey to dangerously high levels.
The ESB and Kildare County Council warned residents along the course of the river to be on standby as water had to be released from a dam at Leixlip.
And flood water levels in the Shannon basin in counties Galway and Offaly remained a serious concern.
The flooding has caused chaos in the West, Midlands, South East and now the East, with hundreds forced out of their homes in the past week.
But the Government insisted last night there was no reason to declare a national emergency.
Department of Environment spokesman Sean Dunne said: "There's no scenario where you are suddenly going to say that we are now in a national emergency because of flooding unless the whole country was flooded. The information that's coming through is that some of these areas are already in recovery. This problem is going away."
As the bad weather hit the East yesterday, estimates suggested the final bill for damage across the country could top €1bn.
Major disruption is expected for those living on the commuter belt trying to get to work this morning.
Parts of north Kildare and the outskirts of Dublin, particularly Lucan, were affected.
The River Liffey burst its banks at the Strawberry Beds in Lucan, and the Lower Road was impassable yesterday and last night.
AA Roadwatch warned of several road closures in and around Dublin city as a general flood alert was issued.
Some 95 soldiers are still on flood-related operations in Cork and Athlone, with another 150 on standby.
The ESB has said there will be no increase in the volume of water being released from Parteen Weir into the River Shannon as water levels have dropped 3cm in Lough Derg.
However, there is little consolation for Co Clare residents who are braced for high tides.
Alert
The Midlands and the West are still on high alert. Yesterday -- without warning -- the River Shannon broke across fields and streamed into areas south of Athlone and into Clonfert and Meelick in east Galway, threatening homes and all other properties in its path.
Homeowners in Athlone are still recovering from last week's floods but they were hit again and it is now expected that up to 600 residents in the town and its environs are suffering.
Yesterday, up to 250 people were evacuated from an apartment block in Sallins, Co Kildare.
Families and residents in 100 homes at the Waterways had to be rescued by boat.
And the most vulnerable were hit when 34 elderly residents at Hazel Hall nursing home had to be evacuated in Clane, Co Kildare. Other areas at risk included Ballymore Eustace, Kilcullen, Newbridge, Celbridge, Leixlip and parts of Co Dublin.
An ESB spokesman said large volumes of water were also entering the catchment area from tributaries that drain on to the Liffey.
However, forecasters said last night that there would be a let-up in rainfall in Dublin in the next three days.
The ESB operates three dams on the River Liffey -- at the Poulaphouca Reservoir, Co Wicklow; at Golden Falls, which is 2km downstream; and at Leixlip. A spokesman said while it was not discharging water from Golden Falls dam, at Ballymore Eustace, it would continue to discharge water from Leixlip overnight.
"The rain has stopped and there is none forecast for the morning so we will look at the situation again in the morning," he added.
Meanwhile, Irish MEP Marian Harkin said the country could claim €50m collectively through the EU solidarity fund.
She said once the damage was assessed, the country could seek aid from the fund.
"For Ireland to be able to claim any funding, damage has to be in the region of€1bn . . . I would say that damage would be in that order," she said.
- Grainne Cunningham and Niamh O'Donoghue
Irish Independent
