No immediate relief for flood-hit areas

 

There is no real relief for flood-threatened residents as water levels in Athlone show no signs of falling significantly.

Westmeath County Council today said the Shannon remains at 'a high level' throughout Athlone and its hinterland, although they said it had started to recede very slowly.

The OPW said there is still a severe flooding situation on the Shannon catchment and it is likely that ongoing flood defence efforts (for example pumping) will  have to continue for some time.

Official OPW figures on the waterlevel.ie site show that at lunchtime today, the water level had only fallen 2 centimetres, south of Athlone weir, from the peak level recorded at midnight on Wednesday night/Thursday morning.

And the water level at lunchtime on Friday was actually 1mm higher than at 5.30am this morning.

'The interagency coordination group will meet again on Monday to assess the situation at that time and to plan the recovery operation in the areas that have been subject to flooding. In the meantime, all defences will be maintained and the agencies will continue to support residents in affected areas,' the council said.

No additional houses or businesses were subject to flooding in recent days and there is no issue with the water supply.

The council said it wishes to assure all potential visitors to Athlone that the current flooding is impacting a very small part of the town and having no impact on the retail and commercial areas.

All of the roads and streets are open, all car parks are clear and all of the shops, hotels, bars and restuarants are open for business and will remain open in the normal fashion. There is free parking in the Council car parks over this weekend.