Cork County Council is offering sandbags to citizens as a tidal surge is expected to flood parts of Bantry, Youghal, Clonakilty and Midleton on Friday evening.

Other parts of the county are already suffering from flooding in the wake of storm Ophelia, and with storm Brian expected to bring up to 50mm of rainfall over the weekend, farmers will be under severe pressure to look after livestock and cope with routine tasks.

Farmer Harold Kingston believes that storm Ophelia has caused most of the flooding: “During the storm every tree lost it’s leaves in two hours. The leaves are upsetting the flow of water and it physically can’t get away from the drains fast enough.”

Kingston has experience of tidal surges, with the strength of the tide eroding and washing away parts of his land in the past.

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