Monsoon Rain in Dublin

Freaky record-breaking rainfall drenched the Irish capital over the weekend, dumping over 3 inches of water and flooding huge parts of the city. 

How much water? More than has ever hit the on the Emerald Ilse in a 24 hour period - including Hurricane Charlie in 1986. 

Over two feet of water was flowing through parts of the city with a river bursting its banks in Laois.  

Rail services were affected on Saturday night in north Dublin when a landslide blocked a train line south of Malahide.

"The rainfall was completely freakish, it was of monsoon proportions. Even Met Eireann couldn’t forecast the particular weather front coming in until sometime on [Saturday] morning which was very late," said a spokesman for the local authority.

A spokesman for Dublin Fire Brigade said crews spent most of the night rescuing people from houses and cars.

"People would be ringing up saying their houses are flooded and there was water on the roads. People were trapped in cars and they needed to be rescued," he said.

The strength of the rainfall meant drains were being filled with water before they could be cleared, resulting in floods in a number of areas, said the council spokesman.

Members of the Civil Defence were also drafted in to help the fire brigade to pump water from buildings.

The Maynooth line was also affected for a few hours after flooding at Broom Bridge. It was estimated that 5,000 rail passengers were affected as a result.

It is not yet known what the full extent or cost of the damage will be but you can bet it won't be cheap. 

Irish Spring anyone?