Clare County Council has today (Thursday, 30 January 2014) issued a flood and storm warning for the entire county in advance of severe weather conditions that are expected during the next few days.
The local authority is urging land, home and business owners, particularly those in low lying coastal areas, to take precautionary steps in light of the flood risk posed by a combination of heavy rainfall, strong gale to storm force winds, a large sea swell and a Spring Tide.
“There is a serious risk countywide of both coastal and inland flooding and all areas which have flooded in the past could be seriously impacted. Conditions could be similar in nature and extent to the storm events of early January with the potential for structural damage,” explained Tom Tiernan, Senior Engineer, Clare County Council.
He added: “Current firm indications are that severe weather conditions will pertain throughout the coming weekend commencing with a substantial rainfall event tomorrow (Friday). In addition, tide levels will be rising to a Spring Tide peak overnight on Friday/Saturday morning. This will be exacerbated by significant swell conditions and high Westerly and South Westerly winds which will continue through Saturday.”
Mr. Tiernan confirmed that river levels remain “very high”, and arrangements have been put in place to continuously monitor the situation.
He continued: “Clare County Council, in conjunction with the Emergency Services, is progressing contingency arrangements in terms of additional pumping capacity and other flood alleviation measures at flood prone locations. In the meantime, the advice is to take appropriate precautions and not to venture out unless necessary, particularly in coastal areas.”
Flooding advice is available on www.flooding.ie. Information included on the website includes advice on identifying flooding risks, protecting property against flooding, necessary steps to be taken if a property is flooded, and assessing and repairing property damaged by flooding.
