Officials prepared the capital for flooding last night, after Met Éireann issued a Status Orange rain warning for Dublin and Wicklow.
The forecaster warned people to expect heavy rain and dangerous driving conditions overnight on Friday.
“We closed the floodgates on the River Dodder as there was a lot of rain in the mountains,” Dublin City Council Executive Manager in Water Colm Fitzpatrick said.
“[We] deployed crews to areas prone to flooding, we cleaned leaves… reacted to spot flooding around the city and there were bits of pieces of that.
“[We] monitored it overnight… and there were at least 13 crews working around the city.”
An Orange Rainfall Warning for Dublin has been issued by Met Eireann from now to 8am Saturday. DCC’s Flood Assessment Group has met and additional crews will be assigned to deal with any flooding. Furthermore, the Dodder Flood Gates have been closed and will reopen on Saturday. https://t.co/xo7uYsISSi
— Dublin City Council (@DubCityCouncil) October 20, 2023
Recovery in Cork
The weather warning came mere days after Storm Babet devastated entire towns in Cork with heavy flooding.
"It's gutted, the whole place is gutted; homes, businesses, the lot," business owner Eleanor Dunlea told Newstalk Breakfast.
"My shop is a shell at the moment, there's nothing in there. It's just back now to concrete walls.
"It's just total devastation for the town.
"I just don't see a future going forward for any businesses."
A number of rolling road closures remain in operation throughout the weekend. The N72 Park Road in Mallow town is now closed due to flooding. Additional updates on effected roads can be found by visiting https://t.co/s983rKkNDm pic.twitter.com/Wxh9PlsMRC
— Cork County Council (@Corkcoco) October 20, 2023
Fianna Fáil TD for Cork East James O'Connor has said the county will needs tens of millions of euro from the Government in order to recover.
Main image: Temple Bar Square in Dublin reflected in a puddle of rainwater, 19-01-2021. Image: Sasko Lazarov/RollingNews
