Some 30 personnel from the Defence Forces will be on the ground in Donegal on Friday morning, the Minister of State with special responsibility for Defence, Paul Kehoe, has confirmed on Twitter.

The Defence Forces will be deployed to help assist Donegal county council with those affected by the floods.

The news comes as farmers, homeowners and businesses across Donegal, Derry and other parts of the northwest are recovering from a deluge of rain on Tuesday night, with 77mm of rain alone recorded at Malin Head.

Livestock and fodder has been lost to the floods, with farmers across Donegal, Derry and Tyrone reporting that cattle and sheep have been lost to the flooding.

The force of the water has knocked and moved walls metres away from their foundations, with sediment from a number of rivers which burst their banks being washed across fields.

More rain

On Thursday, Met Éireann issued a status yellow rainfall warning for Donegal with further spells of heavy rain expected to affect the northwest of the country through Thursday and Friday with the potential for 25 to 40mm to accumulate in 24 hours in county Donegal.

A yellow rainfall warning was also issued for Galway, Leitrim, Mayo and Sligo, with 25mm of rain expected generally and 35mm of rain on higher ground.

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