The Shannon bursts its banks

Shannon River floods its banks in Athlone

  The Shannon floods its banks just south of the
  Athlone town bridge. Boats docked riverside
     threaten to drift onto the pavement.
  Leprechaun community evacuates
  for higher ground.

It has been threatening to happen for a while.

One storm after another, the disappearance of the weir and now the news has Athlone on flood watch, promising sand bags for businesses and alternative accommodation for those whose homes flood.

Worrysome indeed for those of us here on the banks of the mighty Shannon river. I have to say I’ve never seen the water levels so high. The presence of a large storm blowing through over the next few days does little to alleviate worry . . .

I snapped the picture to the left there this morning on the way to work. The railings of those boats are usually a few feet below the quay wall, not several feet ABOVE the waterline as they are in that picture. It’ll be interesting to see how high the water gets.

There is relief to be had downriver where gates can be opened to lower the water levels, but I believe that will merely flood areas further south.