There is “major disruption” on some rail lines this morning, while counties in the south and east of the country are bracing for further possible flooding, with more heavy rain forecast on already saturated ground.
A Status Yellow rain warning is in effect until midnight for counties Dublin, Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford, Wicklow, and Waterford.
The warning comes as communities across the country hit by heavy flooding on Tuesday continue to assess the damage following Storm Chandra.
Iarnród Éireann said there is “major disruption” this morning on DART, Northern Commuter and Belfast – Enterprise services. The line between Malahide and Howth Junction is closed after a tree fell on the line between Portmarnock and Malahide following heavy rainfall. Dublin Bus is accepting rail tickets.
There are traffic diversions in place around Dublin’s Fairview Park this morning where a road has been blocked off due to flooding.
Gardaí say that it will take a couple of hours until the road reopens, describing the flooding as “severe” in the Marino Mart area.
Traffic is stopped at Annesley Bridge and is being diverted down the East Wall Road and Fairview Strand.
Latest figures from the ESB show that more than 1,200 homes and businesses remain without electricity in the aftermath of the storm.
Further flooding ‘likely’
Met Eireann forecaster Holly O’Neill has said that the weather today is a “developing situation” and that it’s “likely we’ll see further localised flooding” in parts of the south, southeast and possible further east.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, she it is likely Munster and parts of Leinster mostly impacted.
“With grounds being so saturated and rivers being so high, any further amount of rainfall we are going to get is going to have a greater impact than it would normally have on any other day as the rain has nowhere to go,” she said.
Storm Chandra
Heavy winds and torrential rain on Tuesday caused significant disruption across the island of Ireland, including power outages, flight cancellations and 300 school closures in Northern Ireland.
Rivers burst their banks, including the Slaney in Co Wexford and the Dodder in Dublin, with fallen trees reported across the island.
Minister for the Office of Public Works (OPW), Kevin Boxer Moran, will visit the areas worst affected by Storm Chandra – south Dublin, Co Wicklow and Enniscorthy, Co Wexford.
The water has been receding in Enniscorthy where the River Slaney burst its banks, causing major flooding.
Several parts of Enniscorthy town centre were impassable on Tuesday with dozens of homes and businesses under several metres of water.