Wexford County Council has warned people to exercise caution whilst driving after the area experienced some of the worst flooding it has seen in decades.
“Don't underestimate the depth of flooding on roads this evening. Don't attempt to drive through these floods,” the council tweeted late on Christmas night.
"Lots of calls to our emergency services from people stuck in cars in floods, impacting our ability to respond to more urgent and more dangerous emergency situations."
Bridge collapse at Wilton Bree this morning. Please avoid the area. @SouthEastRadio @EnniscGuardian @Slaney_News @rtenews @thejournal_ie pic.twitter.com/pThRMqSBha
— Wexford County Council (@wexfordcoco) December 26, 2021
A bridge collapsed at Wilton Bree, while another one at Kilcarbry in Enniscorthy was found to be "severely damaged".
In the run up to Christmas, Met Éireann issued a yellow level to the county. However, Gorey-based councillor, Andrew Bolger, told Newstalk that he believed this was a mistake:
“I do think that a red level warning should have been warranted. I think there was a threat to life.
“I think certainly more in south Wexford than north Wexford. But even on the motorways of north Wexford, there were lanes that were covered with water, which would have been very difficult for drivers to deal with if they were travelling along that road at high speeds.”
Bridge at Kilcarbry, Enniscorthy severely damaged. Road closed and will be for some time. @SouthEastRadio @rtenews @EnniscGuardian @byrne_padraig @GardaTraffic @Slaney_News pic.twitter.com/Q3bSapeuQl
— Wexford County Council (@wexfordcoco) December 26, 2021
Cllr Bolger added that the floods have caused travel chaos for large many of his constituents:
“I have people ringing me saying that they couldn’t get to family who live outside the town.
“I have friends, who are frontline staff, who have to travel to Dublin, who would have left early before the routes would have got flooded. They were ringing me saying that they can’t get home and are struggling to find a route back to their homeplace.”
The Government’s Humanitarian Assistance Scheme has been opened and Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys announced:
“As the clean-up operation begins, financial assistance will be provided to any household affected.
“I know this is a very difficult time for those impacted by this flooding incident .
“My officials are meeting with other agencies shortly and are on standby to support anyone who needs it.”
Main image: A collapsed bridge. Picture by: Wexford County Council.
