Some areas in West Cork including Bantry and parts of Bandon were hit by flooding last night following torrential rainfall.
Residents on the New Road in Bandon were cleaning up this morning after several of their homes and gardens were flooded with sewage.
Cllr Gillian Coughlan said online that she will now be making contact with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage Darragh O'Brien to ask him to direct Irish Water to address concerns about sewage pipe capacity in Market Quay and the need for a pumping station in the vicinity of Church Lane.
'A lot of money and time has been spent on pipe work in Bandon, for which we are grateful but that will all be negated if the job is not completed correctly and parts of the town continue to suffer from flooding in to the future,' said Cllr Coughlan.
Meanwhile, crews from Bantry Fire Brigade assisted by Cork County Council staff dealt with flooding in Bantry town centre last night where pumps were running on Main Street, New street and the Square.
Speaking to The Southern Star, station officer Ian Vickery said that there were a couple of premises got hit by flooding but generally there was no great damage caused.
'The pumps were set up on time and we were able to control it but more heavy rainfall is forecast for tomorrow,' said Ian.
The crews also thanked the Box of Frogs and the Gift Shop for giving them hot cups of coffee which they said was greatly appreciated.
This was the fourth time in less than six months that the town has been hit by flooding.
There were also widespread reports of flooding on many roads across West Cork and the townlands of Demesne, Derreens, Derrylahan, Ardcahan on R-587 near Dunmanway were also flooded.
In Dunmanway, Council staff had the pumps working on Chapel Street where there was a fear of flooding in the early hours of this morning but the water levels dropped later.
Local councillor Declan Hurley thanked the staff for their assistance and said that there was no damage to properties and that the pumps are still pumping and will remain pumping over the weekend.
Another status yellow wind warning comes into effect on 6am until 6pm Sunday February 14th with strong to gale force southerly winds veering southwesterly.
There is also a coastal flooding risk with storm surge levels of 0.25m expected in Bantry and 0.3m in Cork Harbour from Sunday February 14th.
Cork County Council Severe Weather Assessment Team (SWAT) is monitoring this situation and has attended the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management daily meetings throughout this week. Following on from this morning’s briefing, the Council advises property owners in low lying coastal Areas to take precautions to protect property in those areas that are prone to coastal flooding. This is due to the potential combination impact of factors such as spring tides, storm surge, high onshore winds, overtopping waves and high rainfall over the coming weekend and in particular at high tide times on Saturday and Sunday. Property owners in areas that are prone to coastal flooding should take precautions to protect their property.
The Council is also advising anyone travelling along the coast to exercise caution, due to high onshore winds and the risk of overtopping waves on roads adjacent to the coast, particularly at high tide times. Cork County Council’s SWAT team will continue to monitor the situation over the weekend and will issue updates as necessary.
Cork County Council advises road users to be aware of the danger posed by high winds. Driving conditions may be hazardous with surface flooding possible. Motorists are advised to avoid driving through flowing or standing water and to exercise caution during heavy wind and rain. Motorists are also asked to be conscious of cyclists and pedestrians.
Issues such as fallen trees, flooding and road damage should be reported to the Council’s Emergency Out of Hours number (021) 4800048.
The strong winds may give rise to localised power outages. In the event of disruption to power supply, please contact ESB Networks at 1850 372 999. Fallen or grounded wires should be avoided, and the public are advised call ESB in assisting with the identification of location of fallen wires.
In the event of disruption to water supply, please contact Irish Water at 1850 278 278.
Cork County Council will provide updates on www.corkcoco.ie and on the Council’s social media channels @Corkcoco.
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