Flooding disruption hits county

Flooding is continuing to cause disruption in County Fermanagh.

The main Enniskillen to Dublin Road has been closed and rising water has cut off some parts of the county.

After 32 consecutive days of rain, the water in Lough Erne has reached its highest level in a decade.

Rivers have burst their banks and areas of farmland are under water. Roads in Enniskillen, Church Hill, Derrylin, Wattle Bridge and Lisnaskea have also been flooded.

The dam at Ballyshannon controls water levels in Lough Erne - 300 tonnes of water per second are being released.

But with double the average winter rainfall falling in the last month, and more on the way, the risk of severe flooding remains high.

Thirty families living in the townland of Boho can only be reached using tractors and jeeps.

Earlier, tractors were used to keep its primary school open after flooding stopped teachers from getting to work.

IN PICTURES Images of flooding from website users

They were also used to ferry school meals to Killyhommon Primary.

School buses had to take detours which meant many children did not reach school until after 1000 GMT.

The townland, between Enniskillen and Derrygonnelly, has a long-term flooding problem, and the school had to close recently when it was cut off by water.

The school's principal, Eileen McKenzie, said the water was "actually floating into the bus".

"I can't expect parents to leave their children here, and I can't expect bus drivers to take children when the water levels are like that.

"That's the situation we have here today," she said.

Homes and businesses have been flooded in Cork

In the Republic of Ireland more than 200 members of the military have been deployed to help deal with flooding.

Homes and businesses in Cork city were flooded when the River Lee burst its banks and the collapse of a quay wall beside Mercy Hospital forced the closure of the Accident and Emergency unit.

The Electricity Supply Board said its dam at Inniscarra was dealing with eight times the amount of water it normally handles, and that they had been forced to release water downstream towards the city.

In Galway, a coastguard helicopter rescued a family whose house was surrounded by rising floodwaters.

All five members of the family, including an 87-year-old woman, were winched from the house in Kilbeacanty by the crew in an operation that lasted almost three hours.

The west and south of the country have been worst affected, with up to one metre of water in some areas.

A number of roads are closed and some bus and rail services cancelled. People have been advised not to travel unless necessary.

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