Hi-tech maps showing the country's landslide 'hot zones' were given the go-ahead just weeks before a 3km landslide cut off an entire community and led to fears of an "ecological disaster".

Over the weekend, the rural town of Lyreacrompane near the Stacks Mountains in Kerry was left completely cut off from the outside world when 20 acres of peat up to five metres deep swept through the area.

The landslide, which has been put down to the record rainfall levels this month, occurred during construction work on a roadway to an electricity wind farm in the Magha/Kielduff area of Kerry, with its power sweeping away a bridge and imprisoning people in their homes.

Just weeks before the disaster, plans for a geographical survey were given the green light. It will assess the entire country so that local authorities can prepare for mudslides and landslides anywhere in Ireland.

And although the project, which is to be carried out by the Geological Survey of Ireland (GSI), has been in the pipeline for months, it was recently given new significance following weeks of heavy rain.

A report released earlier this month suggested that the risk of landslides in Ireland is greater than was previously thought.

The report says climate change, growing urbanisation, and increased infrastructure projects are the root of the problem.

A methodology for landslide susceptibility mapping is now being developed by Mouchel Ireland Ltd on behalf of GSI.

The study will take "several years" to complete, according to the GSI.

Control

While the crisis in Kerry has now been brought under control, Kerry County Council and the Shannon Fisheries Board have warned that salmon and sea trout supplies could be severely hampered if the landslide reaches the river Smearlagh.

Boil notices have also been issued for anyone using nearby water supplies in the area.