The Irish Army has been called in to counties Cork and Kerry to help cope with massive flooding and medical emergencies in rural parts after Storm Desmond dumped a near record amount of rain on Ireland.

An Irish Army spokesman told the Irish Independent that "A platoon of troops, and two 6X6 Troop Carrying Vehicles (PCVs) have deployed to Bandon, Co Cork, to assist in flood defence work. “

"6X6 TCVs and soldiers have also been deployed to Kenmare, Tralee and Bantry and will be co-located with..medical teams to assist them to get to medical emergencies in flooded areas if required," 

The dramatic move came as Status Red rainfall alert, the highest it can be, remained in place for parts of Ireland until Monday morning.

Up to 60 millimeters of rain as well as gale force winds has led to 1,700  homes without electricity, chaotic road conditions and falling trees all over the country. Police are advising motorists to avoid waterlogged roads in Western counties.

Met Eireann say the wet and windy weather will continue for Saturday, but with heavy rain for western and north-western parts of the country. Rain is expected over the next week but not as heavy.

The River Deale in Mayo has burst its banks cutting off main highways and side roads. Severe flooding has been reported."

AN Electricity Supply Board (ESB) spokesman said “As the winds are continuing at gale force level, it is expected that there will be further damage to the electricity network with additional outages occurring later this evening.”

In Cork, there are fears for Bandon and Skibbereen both towns are on "high alert" for possible massive flooding as river levels are rapidly rising.

Dozens of flights in and out of Dublin Airport have been delayed or canceled, although Shannon Airport is now reported to be operating normally.

AA Roadwatch are stating a number of roads throughout the country are "impassable.”

In England, a man lost his life in the storm after being blown into the path of a moving bus.

Desmond is just the latest storm to wreak havoc a few weeks back Storm Barney also caused chaos as Ireland seems set for a very unsettled winter.