OPW: Office of Public Works
Oifig na nOibreacha Poiblí

History of Flooding

Flooding is, and always has been, a regular occurrence in Ireland. Major flood events of the last half-century or so, and the areas affected, include:

1946: Kilkenny

1954: Widespread flooding in the Midlands including The Shannon, Barrow, Nore and Suir.

1968: Tidal flooding affecting the South West

1986: "Hurricane Charlie" that devastated parts of Dublin and other towns surrounding the Wicklow Mountains.

1993-4: Severe and prolonged flooding in the karst areas of South Galway.

1997: Major flooding, causing significant damages in the towns of Clonmel.

1999-2000: Some of the worst flooding on record along the Shannon.

2000: Severe flooding through the country.

2002: Tidal flooding of Dublin and other towns along the east coast.

2004: Major floods in the South-East.

To capture, preserve and make publicly available relevant information on past flood events and the damage they have caused, we have developed a flood hazard mapping website that provides extensive details, including available reports, photographs and press cuttings, on historic floods throughout the country.

At present we do not have an accurate picture of what level of flood risk exists at a national level, although it has been estimated that flooding causes in the order of €75m worth of damage per year.

An indication of the scale of the problem can be derived from the costs to the insurance industry. The Irish Insurance Federation has estimated that the three flood events of November 2000, February and November 2002 caused a cumulative cost to the industry of approximately €138m for the events. It should be noted that these events would also have caused significant damage that would not have been covered by insurance.

The ongoing Preliminary National Flood Risk Assessment, which is due to provide preliminary results in 2009, will provide a more comprehensive assessment of the national levels of flood risk.