Council on standby during Storm Babet deluge

With an hour still to go to high tide at 7pm in Bantry, locals are hopeful that the town will escape a flood event.

Despite the heavy downpours – which are likely to continue as part of an orange rainfall event that is valid until 1pm tomorrow – Cork County Council staff are on standby and closely monitoring the situation.

A local engineer in Bantry confirmed that the pumps are in place at  Wolfe Tone Square and sandbags have been deployed to the normal locations in the town centre.

As part of the Met Éireann status orange rain warning, there is a risk that the spells of heavy rain with blustery east to southeast winds at times could lead to localised flooding in many areas, poor visibility, difficult driving conditions and possible wave overtopping at high tide.

The Southern Star has received reports of a diversion that is in place through the village of Rosscarbery, as well as some flooding in Glandore. And there are reports of spot flooding at the R595 Baltimore Road.

A spokesperson for Cork County Council said its crews will remain on standby in several known risk locations across the county.

The Council is asking members of the public to exercise extreme caution as driving conditions may be hazardous, with surface flash flooding possible.

Motorists are advised to avoid driving through flowing or standing water and to exercise caution during heavy rain. Motorists are also asked to be especially conscious of vulnerable road users such as cyclists and pedestrians.

With high river levels members of the public are advised to stay high, stay dry and stay away from the coast, rivers and lakes.

Forecasted conditions may give rise to localised power outages. In the event of disruption to power supply, please contact ESB Networks at 1800 372 999.

In the event of disruption to water supply, please contact Uisce Éireann at 1800 278 278.

Issues such as flooding and road damage should be reported to your local Council Office during working hours 9am, details of which can be found by visiting www.corkcoco.ie. Outside working hours, the Council can be contacted via its emergency out of hours number: 021 4800048.