LAST UPDATE | 26 Dec 2021

WEXFORD COUNTY COUNCIL said residents in one village saw flood levels rise to more than one metre in their homes yesterday after the banks of a canal burst. 

The county and other parts of the south east experienced heavy rainfall, with flooding reported in parts of Wexford as early as 8am on Christmas Day.

A bridge collapsed at Wilton Bree and another bridge at Kilcarbry, Enniscorthy, has been severely damaged.

In a statement, Wexford County Council said its Emergency Management Team met this afternoon to review the impact of yesterday’s rainfall.

More than 3.5 inches of rain fell in Wexford over the 24-hour period with a “devastating” effect, the council said. 

“Hundreds of people were forced to put their Christmas Day celebrations on hold as local river networks across the county became inundated and unable to cope with the staggering water volumes, described by many locals as “unprecedented in living memory” and of “biblical proportions”,” the council said.

Council workers including firefighters, road crews and civil defence volunteers were called in for assistance as flood waters breached river banks across the county.

The council said its out of hours emergency phone line received more than 250 calls yesterday from people seeking assistance to protect their homes against the rising waters.

“More than 3000 sandbags were deployed at scores of locations and while these did offer protection to householders in many areas, not every home managed to escape the flood waters,” the council said.

It said the village of Bridgetown was one of the worst affected areas after a local canal burst its banks in the morning. This flooded nearby houses “to a depth of more than a metre”. 

“Fire crews and trained civil defence personnel used boats and rafts to assist those trapped by the rising waters. Many of those forced to leave their homes took shelter with friends and neighbours with others availing of temporary emergency accommodation provided by Wexford County Council.”

Transport Minister Eamon Ryan said he is concerned at the damage caused to bridges and roads by the floods.

“My Department will provide full support for Wexford County Council and other councils as they address and repair the damage caused by the flash floods,” Ryan said in a statement.

He said the department will ask Wexford County Council and other impacted councils to submit cost estimates for repairs. 

“An allocation for repairs will then be made from the 2022 Regional and Local Roads fund,” the minister said.

Wexford County Council said it will assess the scale of the damage caused to roads in the coming days and put a repair plan in place.

It said that it is too early to estimate the cost of repairs, but that “significant government funding” will be needed to “remediate the huge damage caused by the unprecedented flooding”.

There will be financial support from the government for homeowners impacted by the flooding. 

Minister for Social Protection, Heather Humphreys, said the Humanitarian Assistance scheme in her department has been activated.

Minister Humphreys said that the inter-agency response ensures that supports will be provided to those affected as quickly as possible.

As the clean-up operation begins, financial supports will be made available to the householders affected.

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

Other flooding incidents

In Enniscorthy, the River Boro reached “unprecedented levels” and swept away bridges at Kilcarbry Mill and Wilton, Bree.

The River Slaney flooded Enniscorthy Town, with both Templeshannon Quay and Abbey still flooded and closed to traffic with diversions in place, the council said.

Flood waters also destroyed bridges at Chapel Clonroche, Cullenstown Little, Wellingtonbridge, Mangan, Hollyfort and Ballyroebuck Ferns.

Wexford County Council said it continues to advise anyone travelling to drive with extreme caution, and to drive at night time only if it is absolutely necessary. Hazards like flood water and damaged roads may be difficult to see at night.

The council said that, despite the flood waters, there have been no public water supply quality issues.

Road sweepers have been deployed in many parts of Wexford to help remove debris from roads and footpaths today as flood waters recede.

Wexford County Council’s Environment Department issued an appeal to farmers whose slurry tanks may have filled with surface water to not spread slurry on already waterlogged fields, as the resulting runoff can have a “devastating” polluting impact on neighbouring rivers and streams.

Anyone who wishes to report an incident to Wexford County Council can contact the council’s out of hours number on 1890 666 777.

Enniscorthy based TD Paul Kehoe said the damage from the flooding is bound to be “monumental”.

“Hazards still remain in many places and the depth of standing water can be extremely deceptive, so please exercise extreme caution if you are out on the roads,” the Fine Gael TD said.

Updated by Orla Dwyer.