Photo: Pauly3 · CC BY-SA 4.0Few natural hazards in Rathdowney: low radon, steady ground and few homes low by big water
With an estimated 0% of homes above the radon reference level, among the lower shares, Rathdowney grades A+ for hazard risk. Flood counts only against a town, so its share of low-lying homes earns it no credit: radon and landslide ground set the grade.
What stands out about Rathdowney’s hazards
From the EPA’s radon map, Geological Survey Ireland’s landslide map, the OPW’s flood relief schemes and our estimate of low-lying homes, below.
What Rathdowney faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Low-lying homes
Radon
Landslides
Ground heights
Rathdowney grades A+ for hazard risk
Radon, landslide ground and low-lying homes, each against Irish towns, then averaged.
Each figure is placed among Irish towns of 1,000 or more people; the grade averages the three, so a better place on each is a better grade.
Flood counts only against a town, never for it: Rathdowney’s share of low-lying homes would have raised its grade, so it isn’t counted, and radon and landslide ground set it.
Less sure: The low-lying figure is our estimate from ground heights and the river map, not an official flood map. It can show a town is low-lying; it can’t show a town is safe.
Few of Rathdowney’s homes stand low by a big river, lake or the sea
Low-lying homes, a TownRatings estimate from OPW and Geological Survey Ireland LiDAR ground heights and the EPA’s river map: not an official flood map. Smaller streams, drains and groundwater aren’t in this measure, so a low figure doesn’t mean a town never floods.
Share of each town’s homes standing low by big water, for the towns measured in detail. 43% have none; Rathdowney has more than 21% of them.
Homes: OpenStreetMap buildings of 30 m² or more, not tagged as non-residential, in the town’s Census 2022 Small Areas. Heights: GSI Open Topographic Data LiDAR (OPW, TII and GSI surveys). Water: EPA river network (rivers of Strahler order 5 or more), lakes, estuaries and coastal waters.
Weather and flood warnings for Rathdowney
Where to see the warnings in force, and what this page can’t count.
Met Éireann issues yellow, orange and red warnings for rain, wind and coastal flooding county by county; Rathdowney is covered by County Laois’s.
| Warning | What Met Éireann means by it |
|---|---|
| Yellow | Weather that isn’t unusual but can be dangerous in places: be aware. |
| Orange | Infrequent, dangerous weather that can put people and property at risk: be prepared. |
| Red | Rare, extremely dangerous weather: take action to protect yourself and your property. |
Met Éireann doesn’t publish an open archive of past warnings, so how often warnings have covered Rathdowney can’t be counted here.
No OPW flood relief scheme protects Rathdowney
The Office of Public Works’ completed flood relief schemes and the areas each one benefits (OPW open data, CC BY 4.0).
None of the OPW’s completed flood relief schemes has a benefiting area that takes in Rathdowney’s homes. The OPW builds schemes where the risk to homes is greatest, so most towns have none.
No other place across County Laois has an OPW flood relief scheme either.
| Town | Scheme | Designed for | Homes behind it | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kilkenny Kilkenny | Kilkenny City (Nore) Flood Relief Scheme | 1 in 100 | 2.2% | 32 km |
| Carlow Carlow | Carlow (Phase B) Flood Relief Scheme | 1 in 100 | 2.1% | 45 km |
| Tullamore Offaly | Tullamore Flood Relief Scheme | 1 in 100 | 2.4% | 47 km |
| Clonmel Tipperary | Clonmel (North & East) Flood Relief Scheme | 1 in 100 | 7.4% | 56 km |
| Carrick-on-Suir Tipperary | Carrick-on-Suir Flood Relief Scheme | 1 in 50 | 4.3% | 58 km |
| Annacotty Limerick | Mulkear River (Ballymackeogh) Flood Relief Scheme | 1 in 10 | 1.1% | 67 km |
No home in Rathdowney stands on landslide-prone ground
Geological Survey Ireland’s landslide susceptibility map (1:50,000), read at every home.
Homes on ground rated high or moderately high
Rathdowney is among the 64% of Irish towns with no home on such ground.
GSI rates ground from low to high by its slope, soil and rock. Most Irish landslides are on steep upland slopes and peat after heavy rain; a town on flat ground has almost none.
High means the ground could slide under the right conditions, such as days of heavy rain on a steep, wet slope; it isn’t a forecast that it will.
GSI landslide susceptibility, high and moderately high classes, share of the town’s homes on mapped ground (CC BY 4.0).
Rathdowney is in the lowest radon band
The EPA’s radon map: for each 10 km square, the estimated share of homes above the national reference level of 200 Bq/m³.
A square where 10% or more of homes are estimated above the reference level is a High Radon Area; 0% of Rathdowney’s homes are in one. The map is an estimate by area: two neighbouring houses can differ a lot.
A test is the only way to know a home’s level: two detectors, left for three months in a living room and a bedroom.
EPA radon map of Ireland (10 km grid), averaged over the town’s homes (CC BY 4.0).
One EPA-licensed site lies inside Rathdowney
Factories, farms, power plants and waste sites that hold an EPA licence for their emissions, in Rathdowney and around its centre.
| Site | Licence and activity | Away |
|---|---|---|
| Dawn Meats Ireland t/a Meadow Meats | Industrial Emissions licence · food and drink | inside |
| Galmoy Mines Limited | IPC licence | 5.4 km |
| Shanoon Resources Limited | IPC licence | 5.4 km |
| Activity | Sites |
|---|---|
| Not classed in the register | 2 |
| Food and drink | 1 |
Within 5 km: one under an Industrial Emissions licence.
An EPA licence sets what a site may release to air, water and land; it doesn’t mark the site as an accident hazard.
Sites holding dangerous substances in bulk come under the COMAH (Seveso) rules, but the HSA’s list of them has no open licence, so upper- and lower-tier sites aren’t counted here.
Source: EPA registers of Industrial Emissions, IPC and waste licences, sites licensed on 31 October 2026; distances in a straight line from the town’s centre.
Hazards in the places around Rathdowney
Low-lying homes, radon and landslide ground, town by town.
| Town | Low-lying | Radon | Landslides |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rathdowney | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Urlingford 1,196 · 15 km | – | 2.5% | 0% |
| Templemore 2,005 · 18 km | – | 0.4% | 0% |
| Roscrea 5,542 · 18 km | 0% | 0.2% | 0.3% |
| Abbeyleix 1,897 · 18 km | – | 0% | 0% |
| Mountrath 2,070 · 18 km | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Ballyragget 1,116 · 19 km | 0.6% | 7.9% | 0% |
None of the measured places around Rathdowney has many homes standing low by big water.
A dash under Low-lying: not measured there (too few homes with detailed ground heights), not none.
Get ready for what Rathdowney faces
What to do, and what to ask before you move.
- Never walk or drive through floodwater: 30 cm of moving water can float a car.
- Move valuables, papers and medicines upstairs.
- Turn off gas, electricity and water if you’re told to.
- Test over three months, in a living room and a bedroom.
- Above 200 Bq/m³, a small sump and fan usually fixes it.
- The EPA sells radon test kits at radon.ie and lists registered contractors who fix high readings.
- Bring in or tie down bins, trampolines and anything the wind can lift.
- Keep away from coastal paths and piers while an orange or red warning is in force.
- Charge phones and keep a torch: fallen lines are the commonest storm damage.
- After the storm, report a fallen line to ESB Networks and keep well clear of it.
- Ask whether the home has ever flooded, and get a buildings insurance quote before you commit: flood cover isn’t always offered.
- Ask the seller or landlord for a radon test result, or test in your first months there.
- Check the address on floodinfo.ie: the OPW’s flood maps and its record of past floods.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- An estimate, not a flood map. Low-lying homes is a TownRatings modelling step: each home’s ground height from LiDAR, against the level of the nearest big river (Strahler order 5 or more), lake or estuary within 1 km, or the sea within 2 km. A home within 5 m of the water’s level, or below 4 m near the sea, counts.
- Flood counts only one way. A high share of low-lying homes lowers the Hazard risk Grade; a low share never raises it, because defences, small streams, culverts, groundwater and flash floods don’t show in ground heights. Below the national median a town scores as the median.
- Defences aren’t counted. Flood defences aren’t taken off: the OPW scheme that protects the most homes is shown instead, with its design standard.
- Measured where the heights are detailed. A town is measured, and counted, only where 80% of its homes stand on LiDAR heights. Elsewhere the page says flooding isn’t measured, never that the town is dry.
- Radon is an estimate by area. The EPA’s radon map gives the estimated share of homes above 200 Bq/m³ for each 10 km square, averaged here over the town’s homes. It says where to test, not what one house holds.
- The sea is measured by height. Homes count as low by the sea when their ground is under 4 m and within 2 km of coastal or estuary water; waves, surges and erosion aren’t modelled.
- Landslide ground is a map of where slides could start. GSI’s susceptibility map rates the ground itself; it doesn’t record past slides or say when one will happen.
- Bathing water is rated season by season. The EPA classes each identified bathing water from four seasons of samples; a rating says how clean the water has been, not how safe it is to swim.
- One town, many streets. Risk is street by street. Check a specific address on floodinfo.ie before you buy or rent.
Check any address against the OPW’s official flood maps on floodinfo.ie
Questions about flooding and hazards in Rathdowney
Does Rathdowney flood?
Smaller streams, drains and groundwater aren’t in that measure, so it doesn’t mean the town never floods. For a single address, the OPW’s official flood maps and past floods are on floodinfo.ie.
Is radon a problem in Rathdowney?
The EPA’s map estimates that about 0% of homes around Rathdowney are above the radon reference level of 200 Bq/m³: a lower share than in 97% of Irish towns. 0% of its homes are in a High Radon Area. The only way to know a house is a three-month test.
Is Rathdowney at risk of landslides?
No home in Rathdowney stands on ground rated high or moderately high for landslides.
Is Rathdowney at risk from the sea?
None of Rathdowney’s homes stands below 4 m within 2 km of the sea, so the sea plays no part in its share of low-lying homes; 0% stand low by rivers, lakes and estuaries.
How does Rathdowney compare with the places around it?
Radon estimates around Rathdowney run from 0% in Abbeyleix to 7.9% in Ballyragget; Rathdowney’s own is 0%.
How is Rathdowney’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?
Rathdowney grades A+: radon, landslide ground and low-lying homes are each placed among Irish towns, and the grade averages them.
Flood: TownRatings’ estimate from ground heights, not an official flood map. Contains Irish Public Sector Data (Geological Survey Ireland, the Office of Public Works and the EPA) licensed under CC BY 4.0; Copernicus DEM © DLR e.V. and © Airbus, provided under COPERNICUS by the EU and ESA; © OpenStreetMap contributors. Radon and bathing water: EPA (CC BY 4.0). Landslide susceptibility: Geological Survey Ireland (CC BY 4.0).
Sources: low-lying homes: TownRatings’ estimate from GSI and OPW LiDAR, Copernicus GLO-30 and the EPA river network · radon: EPA radon map · landslides: GSI landslide susceptibility · industrial sites: EPA licence registers · the grade: TownRatings, from these figures. Under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).
Contains Central Statistics Office (CSO) data, Census 2022, and Tailte Éireann boundaries (CSO Urban Areas, Small Areas, local electoral areas, constituencies), under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).