Rivers Barrow and Nore hit flood levels in Laois

The Rivers Barrow and Nore are at or above flood level at a number of monitoring stations in Laois in the wake of Storms Dudley, Eunice and Franklin.

The Office of Public Works publishes real time information on river levels across the country.

The River Barrow hit 2.25 metres in height at the Borness pinch point near Mountmellick by 7.30 on Sunday, Februar 20. The river rose by a metre on Sunday. The median flood level for the station is 2.6 metres. 

The level at the Borness, which is a key measuring station in relation to the situation in Mountmellick, appeared to be stabilising on Sunday night.

The highest ever level of 2.7 metres at the Borness was recorded in November 2017 when Mountmellick was hit by severe flooding. 

Meanwhile, in Portarlington the level on Sunday evening was 2.2 metres but still rising. The median flood level in the Laois Offaly town is 2.5 metres. The nearby Cushina river, a tributary of the Barrow, was in flood at 1.5 metres.

Downstream of Port on the Laois Kildare border at Levitstown the level had risen to 3.5 metres on Sunday evening. The median flood is 3.6 metres at that station. 

Meanwhile, on the River Nore, which flows through largely rural areas of Laois, the median flood level had been breeched at Kilbricken. By Sunday it had reached 2.6 metres which is higher than the median flood of 2.5 metres. The level rose by more than a metre in less then 24 hours and was still rising at the end of the weekend.