Residents along the River Shannon in Counties Clare and Limerick have said they fear their homes will be flooded again in the coming days if the ESB continues to release water from the river in the same volumes at Ardnacrusha and Parteen Weir.
Water levels on the Shannon have gone up dramatically in the last seven days with road and rail transport already affected in many areas.
Heavy rainfall since last weekend has led to an increase in level of up to 45cm on some parts of the Shannon system.
Residents along the river say that 40mm of rain fell on some sections of the river in the last six days when Met Éireann and the ESB had projected a rainfall total of 22mm.
Residents in Clonlara and Castleconnell in the south Shannon district have praised the ESB for their management of the water discharge at Ardnacrusha and Parteen Weir over the course of the winter so far, but many landowners say that the river is now in flood in several areas.
Their homes could be affected by persistent heavy rainfall in the next seven to ten days.
There are road closures and diversions in place in Athlone, Ballinasloe and several areas in the midwest.
Galway County Council has set up flood protection barriers in two areas of Ballinalsoe that are prone to flooding.
Iarnród Éireann said that bus transfers will be in operation between Limerick and Ennis from tomorrow until further notice because of flooding at Ballycar, an area that has seen a number of significant flood events in recent years.
