The torrential downpours also caused havoc on the county's roads this morning and the gardai are urging motorists to exercise extreme caution when driving.

This morning the Longford Gardai were diverting all traffic attempting to enter the Townspark Industrial Estate or Richmond Street from the south or the Railway Bridge on the Athlone Road back around by Ballymacormack Cemetary. Motorists have also reported flooding in Newtownforbes and Ballinalee.

The roads from Longford to Lanesboro and Longford to Strokestown are impassable. If you know someone travelling from Dublin today the gardai are advising motorists to divert at Mullingar and travel via Ballymahon, Lanesboro, Scramoge and on to Strokestown as the N5 and N63 are not open west of Longford.

A spokesperson from the gardai told the Leader, "The N4, N5 and the Athlone Road are the worst affected this morning and we are asking motorists to avoid these areas and also to avoid any unnecessary journeys until the flooding subsides."

If your thinking about taking public transport today instead, the Longford to Carrick-on-Shannon rail line is closed off due to flooding. There is a bus transfer in place which will run over the next number of days.

A meeting of the Co Council's Crisis Management Team was convened by Jack Kilgallen yesterday. The group spent the afternoon organising the provision of flood relief assistance in areas where particularly severe flooding has been experienced.

A spokesperson from the council commented, "In the Moy area near Ballymahon a number of homes were in imminent danger and the council's employees worked with the gardai and locals in order to ensure that there was no danger of lives being lost. The Fire Service worked for a number of hours in the area to relieve flooding. A few miles away at Annagh a number of homes became isolated and it was necessary for residents to move out of their homes."

Workers from Longford County Council are currently handing out free sandbags at their yard across from Lidl on the Dublin Road. Yesterday they handed out hundreds of sandbags to homeowners who were worried that their homes were at risk of flooding.

The bad weather is expected to ease off today but gales and heavy rain are predicted to return early tomorrow morning. A spokesperson from Met Eireann told the Leader, "Wet and windy weather will sweep up from the south later on tonight, with some very heavy rain over south Leinster by dawn. We can expect very heavy rain on Saturday morning, but drier and brighter in the afternoon, with sunny spells and scattered heavy showers.

"Saturday night will be windy with occasional heavy showers, with hail and thunder in places. Sunday will also be cool and windy, with strong and gusty westerly winds. Some sunny spells, but some further heavy and locally thundery showers of rain and hail too. Monday will see the winds moderating gradually, but further showers are expected at times.

"Present indications now suggest, that the wet and windy weather will develop again either late Monday night or early Tuesday morning, with a very showery cool and windy regime following for the midweek."