Storm Ellen: 50,000 to remain without power overnight as new weather warnings issued #StormEllen #PowerOutages #FallenTrees #Ireland
At least 50,000 homes, farms and businesses will be without power overnight due to Storm Ellen, as two new Status Yellow wind and rain warnings have been issued.
At one point 194,000 premises were without power, but crews have worked overnight and throughout the day and power has now been restored to around 144,000 customers.
However, the ESB said this evening that 50,000 would be without services overnight and crews would mobilise at first light to help the remaining affected customers.
More than 1,800 individual faults have been reported since early morning.
The majority of those affected are in Cork, with power outages also experienced in Tipperary, Westmeath, Longford, Sligo, Roscommon and Leitrim.
ESB Networks Operations Manager Derek Hynes said Storm Ellen was the third biggest storm the ESB has had to deal with in recent years, the biggest being Storm Ophelia on 16 October 2017, but it is the first major one to occur at this time of year.
Mr Hynes more crews will be deployed as soon as it is safe to do so and customers should check the ESB’s website for more information.
The south and west of the country experienced the full force of Storm Ellen, which brought heavy rain along with severe and destructive winds.
Cork County Council officials said it had more than 50 reports of fallen trees across the county during the night and many roads are in a perilous condition with the large amounts of debris on them.
The council’s acting Director of Services said emergency crews faced treacherous conditions overnight as they tried to access fallen trees, including along the N25 Cork to Waterford road and the N22, the main road to Killarney.
Jim Molloy said that while trees have been cleared on major routes, drivers should take extreme caution and watch out for debris on the roads, especially in east Cork, where a Status Yellow wind warning remains in place.
Gusts of 143km/h were recorded at Roches Point in Cork at 11pm.
Meanwhile, Met Éireann has issued three Status Yellow warnings.
A rainfall warning for the entire country came into effect at 9am and will be in place until 5am tomorrow, with heavy squally downpours and thunderstorms forecast, bringing a risk of spot flooding at times.
A wind warning for Dublin, Louth, Wexford, Wicklow, Meath, Cork, Kerry and Waterford is in force since 5pm today until 5am tomorrow.
Very strong winds are forecast with severe and damaging gusts and a continued risk of coastal flooding.
A separate wind warning has been issued for Carlow and Kilkenny and is valid from 10pm until midnight tonight.
Courtesy of rte.ie
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