MAN DIES IN CO. WATERFORD FIRE

One person has died in a house fire in Co Waterford.

Gardai are currently at the scene of the dwelling, located just outside Clonmel, in Kilnamack East.

The body of the deceased, a man believed to be in his early 30’s remained at the house overnight as the scene was preserved for a technical examination. It’s understood that the deceased was the only inhabitant at the house.

Emergency services were alerted to the blaze at a house near Kilmacomma outside Clonmel at 4am this morning.

The Fire Brigade confirmed that they received the emergency call, made by a neighbour of the deceased.

Two fire crews of Tipperary Fire Service, one each from Clonmel and Cahir along with one tanker attended the scene. The crews remained at the scene until they were stood down at about 11am this morning.

One eye witness reported that the fire was "well ablaze" by the time emergency services arrived on site.

CLEAN UP AFTER STORM FRANK UNDERWAY IN WATERFORD AND SOUTH TIPPERARY

Clean-up operations are underway around Co Waterford in the wake of Storm Frank, which caused widespread flooding.

Many areas of Waterford City and County are still fighting the effects of the Storm which hit land over Ireland about Midday yesterday and which lasted almost 24 hours.

Outdoor Crews from Waterford City and County Council worked throughout the night to alleviate flooding in many areas of the County in an effort to keep roads open for those that had to travel this morning.

Parts of the West of the County as well as Portlaw Village were the worst effected in the area.

The River Clodagh in Portlaw burst its banks. The bridge over the River was reported to have collapsed or partially collapsed but the reports proved to be incorrect. One house in the town which has experienced historical had to be evacuated.

There were also reports of flooding in Rathgormack, and the road between Lemybrien and Carrick-on-Suir was impassable around Mahon Bridge.

Waterford city escaped much of the flooding but there were areas of the city especially in the Ballindud, the Cork Road between McDonalds and the RSC and the Inner Ring Road at Kelly & Dollard seeing roads closed to traffic.

In West of the county, the Military Road in Dungarvan close to Radley Engineering was closed after the River Colligan burst is banks while the Ballymacarbry to Clonmel Road is impassable at Kilmanahan and the Mushroom Farm. The area between the Finger Post and the Saw Mills was also closed as water levels in the area rose.

The N72 between Cappoquin and Lismore was also impassable. The water levels in the area dropped earlier today but the road has since closed again as water levels again rose at high time as the river is tidal as far as Cappoquin from Youghal. The R668 road from The Vee to Lismore was also closed to traffic at Ballyrafter due to the road collapsing.

The N72 was also closed for a while at the Finisk Bridge at Cappagh as water levels in the Finisk rose. There were also reports of flooding near by in Ballinamult, Modeligo and on the Keereen to Aglish Road.

In Dungarvan, the road outside the former Waterford Crystal Factory was closed due to flooding while the Bog Road and the road to the Old Ballyduff School in Carriglea were also closed.

The R634 in Tallow was also closed to traffic at Tallow Bridge because of high water levels in the River Bride and local diversions were also put in place.

Further on the N72 the road was closed again between Tallow and Fermoy after a tree fell onto the road.

South Tipperary was also affected as the road between Cahir and Clonmel was flooded in a number of parts, while the N24 was also shut down to just one lane around the Kilheffernan Roundabout between Clonmel and Kilsheelan.

Carrick-on-Suir was also hit as a numbers of areas between Kilsheelan and Carrick-on-Suir were unpassable. In Carrick-on-Suir itself, the North Quay was underwater and the River rescue group in the town had to help rescue some residents from their homes.

Two of the three bridges over the Suir from County Waterford were closed to traffic in Clonmel while Knocklofty Bridge on the Clonmel to Ardfinnan Road was also closed when water levels rose to a high level. In Marlfield a tree came down closing off access to the Clonmel from that direction.