Dublin City Council prepares for weekend of High Tides
A series of very high tides is due to occur starting this Friday- January 31st, continuing over the weekend until Monday, February 3rd. Early indications are that the tides due at 11.30 am on Friday and at 12.18pm on Saturday will be particularly high. An accurate forecast of the high tide level for Friday should be available tomorrow morning.
Dublin City Council’s Flooding Advisory Group has risk assessed the high tides and the following measures will be put in place to deal with possible tidal flooding. These measures are strictly precautionary until Dublin City Council makes a more accurate tide level forecast 24 hours in advance of Friday’s high tide.
· The 1 tonne sandbags which were put in place at Clontarf to deal with the January high tides have remained in place in anticipation of this weekend’s high tides.
· Large capacity pumps will be put in place at Clontarf to assist in dealing with potential flooding.
· Depending on the wave action the Wooden Bridge at Clontarf may be closed.
· The car parks along the promenades at Sandymount and at Clontarf will be closed and pedestrian access points sealed.
· There is a possibility that Strand Road and Beach Road in Sandymount will be closed due to wave overtopping.
· The Boardwalk along the City Quays will be closed tomorrow evening, Thursday January 30th and will remain closed until at least next Monday February 3rd, at which stage a review will be conducted.
· There may be lane closures on Victoria Quay and on Wolfe Tone Quay due to localised flooding. Additional preventative drainage measures have been put in place at these locations since the January high tides to minimise the risk of road flooding.
· The River Tolka flood gates are being put in place.
· The flood defence gates on the River Dodder will be put in place tomorrow evening, Thursday – January 30th and will be reopened after Saturday’s high tides have passed.
· Flood protection measures will be deployed at Beatty’s Avenue, Ballsbridge.
· Pumping arrangements are being put in place at Macken Street / Cardiff Lane.
Dublin City Council is liaising closely with an Garda Síochána and with Met Éireann and a further risk assessment will be carried out tomorrow morning.
We would ask that people please stay away from sea walls and not go close to them to take photographs. This is extremely dangerous and places an unnecessary and additional burden on the Emergency Services.
Property owners at risk of tidal flooding, particularly in the Clontarf and Sandymount areas are advised to protect their properties. Suitable guidance on flood protection measures can be found on the website www.flooding.ie”