Fire crews are battling to save as many as 20 homes that have been engulfed by flood waters in Co Clare.
Units of the fire brigade from Ennistymon are doing their best to help homeowners at Church Road and Lahinch Road in Miltown Malbay.
Fire personnel are using pumps to try and clear water from the properties however it’s expected the operation could take several hours.
Members of the Irish Coast Guard have also been assisting in the effort.
The alarm was raised at around 9pm where manhole covers were reported to have been thrust opened by water pressure.
Ennistymon fire service have also rescued a couple from a stranded car at Liscannor East. The vehicle became bogged down in two feet of water on the road between Liscannor and the Cliffs of Moher at around 9.30pm.
Soon afterwards, fire personnel were redeployed to another similar incident a short distance away.
On arrival at the scene they found a car stranded in the middle of a flooded road which had also been badly damaged by floodwaters.
The vehicle was empty and efforts were being made to contact the occupants to ensure they made it home safely.
Meanwhile, fire crews from Kilrush who had been dealing with another flooding incident in Mullagh have been sent to assist colleagues with the incident in Miltown Malbay.
On their way to the scene, crews were called into action when they met several cars stranded in flood waters near Quilty.
Several floods were reported on the road between Lahinch and Doolin earlier in the day with many cars turning back, unwilling to risk driving through the floodwaters.
A mid-level Orange Alert for heavy rainfall was issued by Met Éireann on Thursday, while Clare County Council also issued public alerts on Thursday and again during Friday.
Meanwhile, another band of heavy rain is due to affect County Clare on Sunday into the early hours of Monday. Between 25mm and 40mm of rainfall is expected. Below is the rainfall totals for the 24-hour period up to Friday at 11pm.. Image via ogimet.com.
