WATCH: Army drafted in to address flood and snow risk in Limerick

MEMBERS of the defence forces have been drafted in as the risk of floods and snow in Limerick grows.

Defence measures including pumps, booms and sandbags have been placed in the areas most affected, with the local authority monitoring the situation on an around-the-clock basis.

With the ESB set to increase the discharge at Parteen Weir to tackle the rising river levels, and Met Eireann issuing a snow and ice warning for the city in place later this week, the army have been called in to help in the operation.

It comes as Limerick council staff continue to closely monitor water levels with indications they are going to rise.

Some lands along the river have already been flooded with Montpelier, Castleconnell, Annacotty, and the Mountshannon area of Lisnagry the areas most likely to experience flooding over the next few days.

Due to heavy rainfall over the past number of weeks, lands across all of Limerick City and County are already saturated and council is urging people to stay away from riversides and banks due the current conditions.

The council is also urging people exercise extreme caution when going through roads that are flooded and any signage erected by the Council should be followed.

There are no indications that other areas of Limerick prone to flooding will be affected at this time.

Limerick City and County Council has convened the Local Co-ordination Group comprising of the local authority, the HSE and An Garda Síochána to inform them of the situation.

Meanwhile, Irish Rail has announced that due to rising water levels along the Limerick to Galway train line, the opening services of the day will operate as bus transfers. These are the 05:55 from Colbert Station, and the 06:15 from Galway's Ceannt interchange.

A decision on the next services will be taken in the morning.

Thanks to Sean Ryan for the superb video