Bantry battles with high rivers and torrential rain

Torrential rain on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning had Bantry residents and traders on high alert yet again.

But the chairman of Bantry Business Association, Diarmaid Murphy, told The Southern Star he is optimistic the drains, on this occasion, can cope.

Our video footage shows the sheer volume of water coming from Seskin via the Mill at the library. The water feeds into the town’s culvert system, which runs under New Street, and into the bay.

Diarmaid said, ‘The Council was out late last night and again early this morning working on the culverts and any blockages that might have been there have been removed so the system seems to be working well.’

The chairman confirmed that there is a small amount of surface water on the streets but the town’s drainage system looks as if it will cope with what the downpours bring.

However, Diarmaid admitted, 'The near constant threat of flooding, following yellow and orange rain warnings from Met Éireann, has us worried.’