By Dan Walsh in Enniscorthy
Traffic is travelling through Enniscorthy again tonight. Both bridges and the quays have been cleaned up and declared safe for normal traffic to resume following the worst floods in the town for three decades.
However, there is no immediate guarantee. A Status Yellow Rain warning for Wexford is now in place for Thursday and there is still some uncertainty around Friday’s weather in the county, but Council teams remain vigilant during this unsettled period and will continue to monitor river levels and respond as required to the ongoing weather situation.
The Status Yellow rain warning is for Carlow, Dublin, Kilkenny, Wexford, Wicklow, and Waterford and is valid from midnight Thursday to midnight Friday.
Met Éireann predict further heavy rain and showers falling on saturated ground, combined with high river levels, may cause localised flooding, river flooding and difficult travelling conditions.
The River Slaney levels receded quite rapidly this morning and crews spent all day returning the roads to full fitness in a smooth operation that was overseen by Wexford County Council engineers and aided by dry weather conditions.
Overnight the sheer force of the water caused the wall on the Wexford side of the river to collapse and disappear into the flood waters. A temporary wall has been erected for public safety.
Enniscorthy town and Bunclody are entering into the recovery period as flood waters subside, with council crews, home and business owners assessing damage and continuing to make repairs to affected areas.
Community Support Centres are opened in Enniscorthy and Bunclody to support impacted homeowners with access to charging, hot water and showers.
The locations are Rapparees Starlights GAA Club, Bellefield, Enniscorthy, St Aidan’s Hall, Irish Street, Bunclody, and Templeshannon Community & Childcare Centre.
The Department of Social Protection operated clinics to support impacted households through the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme (HAS) today in Enniscorthy and Bunclody.
By phone/email for impacted households: 0818 60 70 80 or HAS@DSP.IE
While the nation focus is on the welfare of Enniscorthy households and business premises the flooding is also extensive in other parts of the region.
Edermine bridge road is heavily flooded. This is a usual flooding spot and can be affected by heavy rain and tidal conditions.
The River Slaney caused unprecedented flooding on Ryland Road in Bunclody on the N80. A big clean up by the residents aided by the Council crews took place and the route into Carlow has reopened.
Severe flooding was observed in Clohamon and fields were extensively flooded at Scarawalsh in the vicinity of the old bridge. Both are on the River Slaney.
Hundreds of hectares of land are under water along the River Bann between Camolin, along by Ferns and down to Scarawalsh where the tributary joins the River Slaney.
RTÉ News is reporting that the Minister of State for the Office of Public Works (OPW) Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran will visit Enniscorthy tomorrow (Thursday). He has visited the town many times regards the flooding, makes a good photo shoot and nothing is progressed and, of course, An Taoiseach Micheál Martin was also in Enniscorthy last week.
WexfordLocal.com 