A MAJOR COMMUNITY clean-up involving emergency services and local residents continues in Listowel, Co Kerry today as the small town was hit by major flooding during Storm Bert on Saturday. 

John Kelliher John Kelliher

The River Feale, which runs through the town, burst its banks at Bridge Road following flooding on Saturday afternoon, forcing 70 homes and over 100 people to be evacuated.

A Status Yellow wind warning was in place in Kerry at the time, with Kerry County Council urging drivers to avoid Listowel for the day.

The main roads to Listowel town were closed for a time on Saturday afternoon, as workers from Kerry County Council and Kerry Fire Department pumped water from sections of the town closest to the River Feale where the river breached its banks.

Major flooding at The Meadows in Listowel, Co Kerry. John Kelliher John Kelliher

The Meadows housing estate was one of the worst-hit areas - the Bridge Road location is surrounded on three sides by the River Feale, meaning the water quickly reached many of the houses in the estate after the river burst its banks.

Some residents were pulled to safety through the water by a tractor and trailer, while fire engines spent hours in Listowel attempting to decrease water levels.

Residents were pulled to safety in the Meadows housing estate after major flooding hit. John Kelliher John Kelliher

The L6050 from Finuge Cross to Killocrim Cross will remain closed due to flooding at Finuge Bridge and is unlikely to reopen today.

Local Fine Gael Councillor Mike Kennelly told Radio Kerry that lessons need to be learned on what could have been done, adding that there needs to be “measures going forward to give people that little bit of faith going forward that it might not happen anymore”.

Record water levels were recorded in the River Feale on Saturday. John Kelliher John Kelliher

Local residents have stepped up and offered temporary accommodation, as well as clothes and toys, to the families worst affected by the flooding.

Speaking to Radio Kerry, Fianna Fáil councillor Jimmy Moloney said that the community rallying together during the crisis provided some silver lining to the flooding.

“If anything came out of the weekend, the response was just fantastic,” Moloney said. “Not because they were called out, they came because they wanted to help”.

Volunteers aiding emergency workers during the flooding. John Kelliher John Kelliher

According to Moloney, there was a record level of water measured in the River Feale over the weekend, with levels over 4 metres recorded during the peak of the flooding on Saturday.

“The highest previously had been 3.5 metres in 1973. It came on us all of a sudden, the rainfall on Friday night, the change in temperature and the snow that thawed out all contributed to it,” Moloney told Radio Kerry.