Yellow weather warning issued for more rain throughout Northern Ireland on back of Storm Babet

According to the warning ‘showers or longer spells of rain have with the potential to lead to some disruption, particularly for eastern areas’.

See the rainfall for yourself with Meteoradar here

And read: Storm Babet: Yellow WEATHER WARNING now in force in Northern Ireland until 10am tomorrow

The Met Office advises that the public should expect:

• There is a small chance that homes and businesses could be flooded, causing damage to some buildings
• There is a small chance of fast flowing or deep floodwater causing danger to life
• Where flooding occurs, there is a slight chance of delays or cancellations to train and bus services
• Spray and flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures
• There is a small chance that some communities will become cut off by flooded roads
• There is a slight chance of power cuts and loss of other services to some homes and businesses

Meanwhile, a major clean-up operation is under way after flooding swamped several towns and villages in Ireland during Storm Babet.

Counties Cork and Waterford on the southern coast of the island were worst hit, with some areas still under water on Thursday morning.

Members of the Irish Defence Forces were deployed as part of the response to the floods.

The army and civil defence units supported evacuation measures in the town of Midleton in Co Cork, where more than 100 properties were flooded.

A number of businesses, including a prominent supermarket, were damaged by the rapidly rising water levels.

While the floods have since receded, almost 500 electricity customers in Midleton remained without power on Thursday morning, with network engineers from ESB working to restore supply.

Cork County Council said more than a month’s worth of rain fell in the space of 24 hours, leading to unprecedented flooding, saturated land and high river levels across the county.

The council has established a centre at Midleton Fire Station to co-ordinate the response and a rest facility was provided in Midleton Community Centre for those who had been evacuated.

Ireland deputy premier Micheal Martin and fellow Cabinet minister Simon Coveney, both from Co Cork, said the Government will provide support through its Humanitarian Assistance Scheme.

Mr Coveney said the flooding has “caused carnage” across the county, while Environment Minister Eamon Ryan said his “heart goes out to all the residents and businesses” affected by Storm Babet.

Independent councillor for East Cork Liam Quaide said the scenes of flooding in Mill Street and Main Street in Midleton were “apocalyptic”.

Flooding was also reported in Whitegate, Rathcormac, Glandore, Ringaskiddy, Carrigaline, Raffeen, Halfway and Casteltownbere in Co Cork.

In Waterford, there were reports of flooding in Dungarvan, Tallow and Clashmore.

Five counties on the south and south-east coasts of Ireland – Cork, Kerry, Waterford, Wexford and Wicklow – were subject to orange rain warnings on Wednesday.

An additional yellow rain warning has been announced for Co Kerry, lasting 24 hours from 6pm on Thursday.

Some of the flooding episodes began on Tuesday.

Euan Whelton, from the village of Glandore in Co Cork, said he had not seen flooding “this bad” for 10 years.

The 21-year-old agriculture worker said the Skibbereen Fire Brigade pumped water from the area for “five or six hours” on Tuesday but said it remained underwater on Wednesday.

He said the harbour village was “closed down” in 2013 due to heavy flooding and told PA: “I would say in 10 years it hasn’t been this bad.”

He added: “There were a few houses down there that were flooded – there was probably a foot or two of water inside the houses.

“There was a riverbank burst and it flooded the houses down there. There was a high tide as well so it was hard to get the water out.

“The fire brigade was there for probably five or six hours pumping it out but it’s still all underwater at the moment (Wednesday afternoon).”