METRO Thursday, November 26, 2009 D 39.2m, a half-metre over the previous record, and leaving only 10cm be- tween water either side of the lock. Lough Ree was almost 40cm above the record height at 39.5m. Gauges on Lough Allen were re- ported at 4.28m, 30cm above the record from 2000 which saw the big- gest flood in 40 years. Engineers, who predicted peak wa- ter levels would hit yesterday or to- day, warned they may not be able to accurately gauge when highest levels will strike. The ESB said it will not increase flows over the Parteen Weir but the already high volumes have flooded homes on the lower Shannon. Communities across south Galway braced themselves for increasing wa- ter levels warning that the region acted like a bowl sucking in rainfall run-off from surrounding hills. It takes several days for the full impact to be felt. The Taoiseach will visit flood-af- fected areas in the Midlands in Offaly and Westmeath today. Mr Cowen urged vigilance and said assistance must be provided to devas- tated areas, including shelter and wa- ter to those without supply. Government diplomats in Brussels were lobbying EU chiefs to secure funding for those hit by the flooding. Mr Cowen also accepted the 10mil- lionhumanitarianpackageannounced yesterday would not be enough. Some 600 flood-struck homes have been evacuated across the country, including 90 in the Athlone area on Tuesday night. End of the road for car dealership CAR dealership EP Mooney has had a provisional liquidator appointed by the High Court following the disclosure that the firm is insolvent with debts of some 22million. The firm, which operates five garages in Dublin and employs 95 people, was wound up yesterday following a resolution which was passed by its directors. The firms difficulties were reportedly caused by the recession, a drop in sales and a lack of financing. MENU THE Home Digest 4 Guilty Pleasures Celebrity gossip 6 World Digest 12 MetroLife Arts and entertainment 14-15 60 Second Interview Singer Una Healy 16 TV 16-17 Puzzles & Letters 18-19 Classifieds 20-21 Sport 22-24 Help keep Dublin clean and tidy for everyone by taking your Metro with you and recycling it TODAY: Another cold, wet and windy day. Max: 9C TOMORROW: Still windy and cold with showers. Max: 8C LOTTO WEDNESDAYS DRAW 04 08 20 40 42 44 Bonus: 18 Plus 1: 02 07 29 36 39 40 Bonus: 11 Plus 2: 16 17 26 29 33 42 Bonus: 44 METRO Weather Beer burglars get two-year sentence TWO men who broke into an Israeli nationals flat and started drinking his beer have each received a two year sentence with 12 months suspended for burglary. The Israeli man woke to discover Jonathan Grimes, 22, Rutland Street Lower, and Joseph Gifford, 24, Cappagh Road, Finglas, sitting on his sofa drinking beer. Grimes had 84 previous convictions, including assault, and Gifford, 15. Floods will get much worse, warns Cowen TAOISEACH Brian Cowen last night gave a stark warning to flood-ravaged communities across Ireland it will get worse before it gets better. As energy chiefs attempted to ease pressure upstream on the Shannon without inundating homes down- stream, Mr Cowen said further days of misery were on the way. Its expected that the levels in the Shannon will continue to rise over the next few days, adding to the prob- lems, the Taoiseach said. This is an ongoing emergency and while every- thing that can be done is being done, I expect conditions to get worse be- fore they get better. Waterways Ireland confirmed the worst fears with large parts of the Shannon and canals from Leitrim to Lough Derg at record heights. Gauges in Athlone showed levels at BY COLM KELPIE Water, water, everywhere: An aerial view of the flooding at Parteen Weir, County Clare Picture: PA Rivers and canals continue to reach record heights Record levels in Shannon area COMMUNITIES along the banks of the River Shannon were last night bracing themselves for devastating floods after waters reached record heights. The ESB warned water in already flooded areas would rise by about three inches after it was forced to increase the amount released from Parteen Weir which controls the flow of water into Ardnacrusha power station upstream from Limerick city. Waterways Ireland said large parts of the Shannon and canals from Leitrim to Lough Derg were at record heights. Families were evacuated from their homes in Athlone while in Co Clare a flood warning remained in OBriensbridge, Clonlara, Westbury and Shannon Banks. Galway towns hit crisis point HOMEOWNERS across south Galway were at crisis point last night as floods continued to run off hills leaving farms, villages and towns marooned. Residents living in at-risk areas fled their houses while soldiers and civil defence teams delivered thousands of sandbags. Councillor Gerry Finnerty, from Gort in the south of the county, said some homes in the town have being flooded for a week. We are in a huge sad situation and we do not know when it is going to finish or how far it will go, he said. Mr Finnerty added conditions worsened when water from the Slieve Aughty Mountains and the Burren flowed into the town. People are isolated in their homes, he said. index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html24.html25.html26.html27.html