Homes and roads flooded as Storm Babet hits Ireland

Flooding has caused damage and disruption in some parts of Ireland as Storm Babet hit the island.

Roads and several properties were swamped in certain areas, with Cork city and surrounding county among the places worst hit.

The town of Midleton in Co Cork was impassable to traffic on Wednesday afternoon due flooded roads.

Five counties on the south and south east coasts of Ireland were subject to orange rain warnings on Wednesday.

The orange warning issued by forecaster Met Eireann for counties Cork and Kerry ended at 1pm, for Waterford at 4pm, while it remained in place for Wexford and Wicklow until 8pm as the storm tracked northward.

Euan Whelton, 21 from the village of Glandore, in Co Cork said he has not seen flooding “this bad” in 10 years.

Mr Whelton, an agriculture worker, said the Skibbereen Fire Brigade pumped water from the area for “five or six hours” on Tuesday but said it remained underwater on Wednesday afternoon.

He said that the harbour village was “closed down” in 2013 due to heavy flooding and told the PA news agency: “I would say in 10 years it hasn’t been this bad.”

He added: “There were a few houses down there that were flooded, there was probably a foot or two of water inside the houses.

“There was a riverbank burst and it flooded on the houses down there, there was a high tide as well so it was hard to get the water out.

“The fire brigade was there for probably five or six hours pumping it out but it’s still all underwater at the moment (Wednesday afternoon).”

Mr Whelton added that in one of his cousin’s houses, the water was “coming in the back door and going straight out the front door”.

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Co Cork mayor Frank O’Flynn said one month’s worth of rain had fallen in 24 hours.

“This is on top of already saturated lands and high river levels,” he said.

“It is evidence, if any were needed, of our changing climate and the issues that it presents.

“I am especially conscious of the advanced preparations that were undertaken by Cork County Council in mitigating the effects of this event and how, despite every effort, homes, businesses and road users have been impacted. Areas where flood defence schemes have been completed fared far better than others in the face of this deluge.

“I know from speaking with council staff that some of the issues they are dealing with are unprecedented, with roads which have never flooded now under water.

“I am calling on the people of Cork to please avoid unnecessary travel, take extreme care if you must set off on a journey and please think of vulnerable road users, especially pedestrians and cyclists.

“As a council, we will continue to work across the county, both in a preventative capacity while also dealing with issues as they arise.

“The results of this weather event will be long felt as we move toward a clean up phase but can I please reiterate the importance of staying safe and together we will come through this weather event.”

Screen grab taken with permission from video posted on X by @Just__Tori_, of flooding in Cork City after storm Babet passed through the area (Just Tori/PA)

A yellow rain warning covering the province of Connacht and counties Clare, Limerick, Tipperary and Cork was is set to end at 6pm while a similar yellow warning for the province of Leinster and counties Cavan, Donegal, Monaghan and Waterford is in place until 8pm.

Strong and gusty east to southeast winds are also forecast across the island.

The Met Office in the UK issued a yellow rain warning covering Northern Ireland from 2pm on Wednesday to 10am on Thursday.

The forecaster said flooding could lead to difficulty driving conditions and some road closures with a “small chance” of homes and businesses being flooded.