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Storm
Frank: Injured fisherman rescued in treacherous conditions as
catastrophic flooding reported around the country
- Injured fisherman rescued by Irish Coast Guard in treacherous conditions
- Dad and four children rescued from car trapped in floods in Arklow
- Flooding in Enniscorthy as River Slaney bursts its banks
- Women and children rescued from cars in Corks
- Dozens of people evacuated from their homes throughout country
- Graiguenamanagh described as a 'warzone'
- 13,000 homes without power this morning
- Roads impassable nationwide due to flooding
- High tide expected to cause chaos this morning
- Over 60mm has fallen in Munster yesterday
"
3630/12/15
- Flooding Crookstown N22 Macroom: Tom Creedon Park under water after
severe rainfall on Tuesday night after Storm Frank unleashed his
power over the country. Picture: John Delea.
The
Irish Coast Guard was involved in a rescue mission in treacherous
conditions 120 miles off Mizen Head when a fisherman was injured on
board a trawler during severe weather conditions.
"Following
a request from the UK Coast Guard, the Irish Coast Guard through its
coordination centre at Valentia has coordinated the airlift of a
Spanish national crew member from the UK registered Fishing Vessel
Brisan 120nm SSW off Mizen Head," a spokesman for the Coastguard
said.
"The
Coast Guard helicopter, Rescue 115, from Shannon conducted the
medical evacuation with the Coast Guard helicopter from Waterford,
Rescue 117, providing top cover backup on scene. The casualty was
airlifted to Cork University Hospital," he dded.
"The
winch was executed in extremely challenging weather conditions with
wave height at 8 metres and force 6 westerly winds," the
spokesman explained.
Elsewhere,
a man and four children had to be rescued from a car after it got
swamped by rising flood waters in Co Wicklow as catatastrophic
flooding is being reported around the country due to Storm Frank.
Shortly
after 11am at the Meeting of the Waters near Avoca the converging
waters from the Avonmore, Avonbeg and Avoca Rivers rose high enough
to burst the banks and flood the road.
“One
car got stuck and the water rose up to the windows so we were
contacted to get them out safely,” a fire brigade spokesman said.
“A
fire tender and ambulance from Arklow were sent to the scene and all
five were taken to safety from the car without any reports of
injuries,” he added.
Local
sources said the road from Arklow to the Meeting of the Waters was
flooded in many spots such as at Glenart Castle, Woodenbridge and
near at the Meeting of the Waters itself.
Wexford
In
Wexford, one of the South East's main arteries remains under three
foot of raging flood water this morning after the river Slaney burst
its banks.
A
father and five children were rescued from a car in Arklow by fire
services after becoming trapped.
The
family were taken into a local business premises to recuperate.
The
N11 in Enniscorthy, Co Wexford in currently impassable with emergency
services bracing themselves for another deluge of rising waters after
high tide.
A
number of people were rescued from their homes along the banks of the
fast flowing waters this morning.
Up
to 12 ground floor apartments at Templeshannon Quay and the Promenade
were evacuated shortly after 8am with some residents taken from their
properties in boats.
It
understood that it is the worst flooding the town has experienced
since 2002.
Cork
Earlier
this morning at least a dozen homes had to be evacuated and two women
with children had to be rescued from cars after Storm Frank caused
flash floods in east Cork.
The
Defence Forces were mobilised in Midleton after torrential rainfall
caused streams and rivers to break their banks.
West
Cork pub owner, Donal Crowley, was trying to maintain a brave face as
he surveyed the worst flood to hit Bandon since the disastrous deluge
of 2009.
"This
is even worse than December 5," he said as he surveyed the
wreckage inside his premises, Brady's on North Main Street.
"It
goes from two and a half foot deep at the front right down to over
five foot deep at the back of the premises."
READ
MORE: 'It's
a disaster, we never dreamed that it'd be this bad' - family whose
pub destroyed by Storm Frank floods
The
army teams worked with Cork Co Council staff and Midleton Fire
Brigade on emergency pumping operations as multiple local roads were
closed.
A
woman and her two children were rescued after their vehicle became
stranded between two floods in Midleton.
In
Glanmire, a woman and a young child were similarly taken from her
stranded car which was trapped by flood waters.
A
dozen local homes, in a low-lying Midleton estate, were also
evacuated as flood waters rose in a matter of minutes given the
torrential rainfall.
Meanwhile,
the west Cork town of Bandon was reeling from its second disastrous
flood in the space of three weeks.
Desperate
efforts are underway to protect businesses and homes as the Rivers
Bandon and Bridewell broke their banks.
It
is likely that full flood barriers will be erected in Fermoy in north
Cork today due to rising waters from the River Blackwate
This
will result in the closure of Kent Bridge as a preventative measure.
Torrential
overnight rainfall from Storm Frank resulted in flooding in the town
centre with up to 20 properties impacted so far with the river level
still rising.
Met Éireann
Strong gusty winds veering W & easing this aft/eve. Heavy shwrs mostly in W & NW, some thundery, becoming isolated later. Cool, highs 5 to 8
As
on December 5, the worst case was North Main Street where numerous
premises including Brady’s pub and the Munster Arms Hotel were left
under more than four foot of flood water.
Hotelier
Don O’Sullivan described the second flood in the space of three
weeks as “absolute disaster for the town”.
Gillian
Powell, a businesswoman in Bandon, has described how the community is
struggling to keep the flood waters at bay.
"We're
just keeping it at bay at the moment," she told Morning Ireland
on RTE Radio One.
"It
is certainly very threatening and we're glad that high tide is now
passing. That will definitely help things.
"The
next two hours are going to be really hard but at least we have
daylight now and we can do the battle in the daylight hours.
"A
team of neighbours and friends have come in, we lifted everything in
the house and the school and traders in the town... we've been
lifting their stock.
"It's
really a quick rising flood and we hope it goes down quick.
"This
is our third time in a month and I would also like to say that a lot
of the traders that were promised compensation and had applied for
it, did not get it before Christmas as promised.
"We
are pretty weary of the weather but we are certainly weary of the way
we are being treated by the authorities as well."
A
spokesman for Cork County Council told Independent.ie that the Severe
Weather Assessment Team met at 3am, 6am and 9am to discuss the
critical flooding in the area.
They
have received several reports that the village of Togher is now
completely flooded.
Galway
The
recent flooding in Galway has lead to the establishment of a
'Temporary Community Welfare Service' in Gort.
Under
the direction of the Department of Social Protection, a clinic will
operate in the town centre from tomorrow, December 31 until January
4.
The
service will be open from 10:30am - 12:30pm and will be situated in
the Community Centre in the town.
Staff
will be on hand to offer advice and assist with the completion of
applications under the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme.
A
special telephone line has been set up in the Intreo Centre in
Loughrea, Galway, and is contactable on 091-536773.
People
who are seeking assistance under the newly established scheme can
also call into the Intreo Centre in Loughrea for further information.
Kilkenny
Elsewhere
in the country, the flooding is reported to be severe.
Graiguenamanagh Co Kilkenny has been particularly badly hit.
Sean
Keane, a resident of Graignamanagh, Co. Kilkenny, described the
scenes in the town after the River Barrow burst its banks in dramatic
circumstances last night.
"It's
like a war zone, the water has destroyed a lot of businesses.
Murray's pub is full of water, Doran's Supervalu is gone... the town
is impassable. It's utter devastation here," he told Morning
Ireland on RTE Radio One.
"Graignamanagh
is at a standstill. I remember 22 years ago it was really bad but
this is the highest ever and it's going to get worse. The River
Barrow is going to get higher.
"They're
going around here in wet-suits."
Another
local resident Michael Keating told Independent.ie that the
Graiguenamanagh main street is "under three to four feet of
water".
Mr
Keating said that boats, which were docked on the river, are now
sinking, due to the excess water. The main street is now reported to
be impassable.
The
area last flooded in 2008 but Mr Keating said it was nothing compared
to the devastated which faces locals now.
"All
the businesses in the main street are completely underwater. People
are out trying to save their shops and businesses now."
Westmeath
Athlone
in Westmeath has been on the frontline of the struggle against the
Shannon flood waters and councillor Kevin 'Boxer' Moran revealed that
up to 150 homes are at risk in the area after the deluge delivered by
Storm Frank.
"We
probably had one of the most difficult nights that we have seen in
the past three or four weeks," he told Morning Ireland on RTE
Radio One.
"My
heart goes out to those people in Bandon and areas that are
flooded... we are battling to keep it out.
"On
both sides of the Shannon, the water was surging quite a lot and
driving water up to the doors of businesses and houses.
"At
one stage there was 19 men working on the Strand area of Athlone...
one pump went on fire.
"With
the Shannon levels where they are at, it could be 150 (homes at
risk).
"We've
all the resources we can get. We can't fault anybody. We're battling
while other people are flooding.
"We're
battling the Shannon."
Roscommon
In
Roscommon last night local divers had to intervene after a car was
blown into the River Shannon.
It
is understood the car’s handbrake was not engaged and a gust of
wind forced the car into the river.
Members
of the Lough Rea sub-aqua club assisted the emergency services to
secure the car.
Club
chairman Michael Farrell said a rescue team will attempt to remove
the car once the winds ease.
“We
located the car underwater and secured it by tying it to the pier,”
Mr Farrell told the Irish Independent last night.
“We
didn’t want it to hit or damage a ship,” he added.
Power
outages
Around
12,000 homes are without power this morning as Storm Frank continues
to wreak havoc across the country.
The
worst affected areas are Fermoy and Bandon in Cork and Celbridge in
Co Kildare where 4,600 homes and businesses are without power.
There
are faults throughout the country and 600 homes in Northern Ireland
also have no electricity.
Athlone
in Westmeath has been on the frontline of the struggle against the
Shannon flood waters and councillor Kevin 'Boxer' Moran revealed that
up to 150 homes are at risk in the area after the deluge delivered by
Storm Frank.
"We
probably had one of the most difficult nights that we have seen in
the past three or four weeks," he told Morning Ireland on RTE
Radio One.
"My
heart goes out to those people in Bandon and areas that are
flooded... we are battling to keep it out.
"On
both sides of the Shannon, the water was surging quite a lot and
driving water up to the doors of businesses and houses.
"At
one stage there was 19 men working on the Strand area of Athlone...
one pump went on fire.
"With
the Shannon levels where they are at, it could be 150 (homes at
risk).
"We've
all the resources we can get. We can't fault anybody. We're battling
while other people are flooding.
"We're
battling the Shannon."
The
ESB has just confirmed that it needs to massively increase water
discharges from Inniscarra Dam in a bid to relieve water pressure in
the River Lee valley.
Today’s
forecast
Met
Eireann has reported that this afternoon will bring heavy showers
mostly in the west and northwest.
It
will be thundery in places and possibly wintry on higher ground.
Showers will become isolated later with some bright or sunny spells
developing.
Afternoon
temperatures will reach the highest peak of 8 degrees.
This
morning's strong and gusty southerly winds will veer westerly and
will become light to moderate this afternoon and evening.
"There
will be a short period of a couple of hours of severe winds this
morning,"
Joan Blackburn of Met Eireann told independent.ie.
"The heavy rain is clearing largely but there will be heavy
thunderstorms in the west and north-west this morning."
Tonight,
it will be cold and temperatures will drop to as low as 0 degrees
with some icy patches.
But
further south, cloud and winds will increase with rain developing and
pushing northwards through the night (falling as sleet or snow in
parts of Ulster towards dawn).
Meanwhile,
residents in the Shannon region, the south and southwest are on full
alert as water continues to rise near homes and businesses.
Up
to 70 mm of rainfall is expected to fall along the River Shannon
catchment during Storm Frank.
The
most severe part of the weather front is likely to cross the country
between 6am and 11am this morning.
There
has been widespread spot flooding nationwide causing havoc on roads.
AA
Roadwatch has advised motorists to exercise caution.
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