Further rain forecast as river through Enniscorthy bursts its banks for second time in week

The flooding that has devastated parts of Co Wexford has spread to other counties in the southeast and the situation could get even worse.

Co Kilkenny is also badly affected with the towns of Graiguenamanagh, Thomastown and Inistioge all experiencing rising flood waters.

The river Slaney in Enniscorthy burst its banks on Friday evening for the second time in a week. Wexford County Council issued an urgent warning for motorists to avoid the town centre.

[ Flood damage: Will my insurance firm cover the costs? ]

The public are urged to stay away from all flooded areas, with the council warning that floodwaters are contaminated and dangerous.

The river Burren in Carlow town is also at a very high level.

Wicklow County Council warned that the risk of flooding was high across the country especially in Aughrim, Baltinglass, Arklow, Wicklow town, Rathnew, Newtownmountkennedy, Greystones, Delgany, and Kilcoole.

Met Éireann published rainfall statistics for the last week which said that in the six days between January 22nd and 28th, parts of the south-east, usually the driest part of the country, got almost 80mm of rain.

Dublin has received almost five times the average amount of rainfall in that six day period.

Unfortunately, the places affected worst by Storm Chandra will also get the most rainfall over the coming days.

Wexford, Waterford, Carlow, Kilkenny, Wicklow and Dublin will get between 30mm and 40mm of rain between now and Monday.

There will be some respite over the bank holiday weekend until Monday, but further heavy rain is expected on Monday evening into Tuesday morning across the country.

Meanwhile, businesses affected by Storm Chandra, but which do not have flood insurance, may be able to apply for funding of up to €100,000.

Previously businesses could only claim up to €20,000, but the scale of the damage of the storm has prompted a rethink by the Department of Enterprise.

The definition of small businesses has been updated to include enterprise with a maximum of 50 employees. It had been 20 employees.

Money will be made available through the Emergency Humanitarian Flooding Scheme (EHFS) to cover damage incurred from January 26th to early February.

The proposal from the Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke will be brought to Cabinet next week.

“I am acting decisively to ensure that those unable to obtain flood insurance can access fast, practical assistance,” he said.

“The extension of the EHFS and the activation of the enhanced scheme will help premises return to their pre‑flood condition as quickly as possible, protecting local jobs and supporting community resilience.”

There is much anger in the town most badly affected by floods, Enniscorthy in Co Wexford, where proposals for a flood relief scheme were unveiled in 2010, but then repeatedly knocked back.