Prime Minister Brian Cowen was to chair an emergency task force meeting on the crisis later in the day, the government said.

Environment Minister John Gormley said he is undertaking a tour of the worst hit areas from the "unprecedented flooding."

"We have been told this is a once in 800 years event. We have had no fatalities and that is a blessing," he told RTE state radio.

Troops have been drafted in to assist emergency services in the worst hit areas, particularly Cork in the south -- Ireland's second city -- and towns in the south and west of the republic.

Rivers have burst their banks and coastal towns were also threatened with sea flooding caused by high tides and storm force winds as Ireland's meteorological service forecasted more heavy rain.

"The immediate priority for government is to ensure that shelter is available for those people who have been displaced from their homes and to arrange for the provision of emergency supplies of safe drinking water where systems have been damaged," Cowen said in a statement.

Gormley said a major issue in Cork, where the River Lee burst its banks, was access to good drinking water and sanitation.

Tankers were delivering water in many parts of the city after the floods damaged a pumping station.

Fears of pollution in other areas have led to boil notices being issued for water supplies.

Thousands of hectares were submerged and the Irish Farmers Association warned of severe economic repercussions.

Meteorologist Gerry Fleming compared the floods to a similar crisis in 1947.

"The run of wet summers and wet winters we been having in the last two years are unprecedented," Fleming said.

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