CORK City Council has activated its flood plan and closed a number of roads across city
Met Éireann has issued weather warnings for strong winds and heavy rainfall to continue in the south of the country throughout Monday and Tuesday.
The status orange warning – which remains in place until 9pm on Tuesday – applies to Cork, Kerry, Tipperary and Waterford.
It is estimated that between 50 to 80mm of rainfall will give rise to river and surface water flooding.
Met Éireann also warned that winds could reach speeds of 110km/h with a risk of coastal flooding in certain areas.
On Tuesday morning some parts had already experienced spot flooding.
A number of roads, including the L1121 off the N72 in Co Cork, have become completely impassable.
Local authorities have warned road users about the hazardous conditions. Kerry County Council told people to “expect poor driving conditions on all routes this morning with spot flooding and surface water in all areas”.
Cork County Council cautioned that numerous roads were “impassable” on Tuesday morning due to the flooding.
Sandbags and other flood barriers have been put in place at a number of high-risk locations, including Mallow, Skibbreen, and Fermoy, ahead of the expected heavy rain.
Cork City Council Director of Operations David Joyce confirmed that the council Council has already closed several roads in the area, including the Lee Road, the Inniscarra and the Cloghroe Road in the Lee valley as the rains caused the Lee and many of its tributaries to overflow upstream of the city.
“Many other roads across the city have surface water and ponding including the Carrigrohane Road, Inchigaggin Lane and roads between Inniscarra and the city. Extreme care should be taken on all roads across the city today,” he told the Irish Times.
“We are advising people who live and work in areas prone to river flooding to take active measures to protect their property. People are advised that sand bags and gels bags are available at our Anglesea Terrace depot and Tramore Valley Park civic amenity site from 8am today, Tuesday.”
Numerous helplines have been made available by Cork County Council for those effected by the floods. Its Customer Service Unit can be contacted on 021 492 4000 from 9am-5pm while Cork City Council is contactable outside of normal office hours on 021 4966512.
See More: Met Eireann, Weather Warning
