CALM THEN CHAOS AS OPHELIA HITS GOREY
A MASSIVE clean-up operation is under way across the Gorey district after ex-Hurricane Ophelia struck on Monday.
The storm, one of the worst on record, saw many homes and businesses without power for much of the day.
The majority of businesses in Gorey and the district didn’t open yesterday in the interest of safety – and those that did closed early, sending staff home.
A number of roads were blocked or partially blocked by trees and debris as the gusts from Ophelia raged through the county wr ecking havoc.
Schools across the country were also closed yesterday and remain closed today as a precautionary measure.
COUNTY Wexford battened down the hatches yesterday (Monday) as the worst storm in 50 years lashed the county with winds of up to 130 km/h.
With a Red Alert in force in the county, all schools and most preschool/creche facilities were closed, most public transport was not running, buses and trains were cancelled, ferries were cancelled, and public events planned for Monday night were called off.
By early afternoon, winds were sweeping across most parts of the county with those along the coast worst affected.
Hurricane Ophelia – or what was left of it – was the most severe weather event to hit Ireland since Hurricane Debbie hit in 1961 - resulting in 15 deaths.
Wexford County Council said widespread flooding was not anticipated, however, it had stockpiled more than 5,000 sandbags which were available if required throughout the county.
‘The Council has significant resources available to it to deal with this event.
‘All our emergency staff, including fire service personnel, outdoor crews and senior staff of the Council are in place and available to deal with issues as they arise.
‘In addition, we have at our disposal resources from the Army and Civil Defence, while the Order of Malta has also offered assistance,’ the council said in a severe weather alert.
Hospital outpatient appointments were cancelled at hospitals throughout the county and region.
Acute health services were open as normal, but people were urged not to venture out during the storm period – due to go on into last night – unless absolutely necessary.
In Wexford town, Padraig O’Gorman, the senior executive officer in the council’s housing department, said arrangements had been made for rough sleepers to get a hot meal and a B&B or hotel room for last night.
Minister Paul Kehoe appealed to people ‘not to make unnecessary journeys’ ahead of the havoc that Ophelia was expected to unleash and it appeared that most people had taken his advice.
The normally bustling town centre was largely deserted with all but a handful of people on the streets. Most of the larger stores closed, however, some smaller town centre stores braved it out until the last minute.
Minister for Transport, Shane Ross said all transport services were severely disrupted.
The Coast Guard asked people to avoid any visits or walks to coastal or cliff areas, and reiterated its core message of Stay Back, Stay High, Stay Dry.
All mariners were reminded to pay additional attention to the sea area forecasts, noting that as the centre of the weather system approached Ireland, localised changes are likely.
The ESB said that as of 12 noon yesterday, approximately 120,000 electricity customers are without power.
By mid-afternoon, many thousands of County Wexford households were without power.
The ESB said the majority of customers who had lost power, would be without power overnight as crews struggled to restore supplies and it could take several days for power to be restored to some areas.
Crews from ESB Networks were ready to be dispatched to any affected areas without electricity supply, making the electricity network safe and assessing the damage, so that they can restore power as quickly and effectively as possible.
The ESB issued the following warning to the general public: If you come across fallen wires or damaged elec-
tricity network, never, ever touch or approach these as they are live and extremely dangerous. Report any damage to electricity infrastructure by calling 1850 372 999.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney said anybody not taking storm Orphelia seriously should think again.
‘I don’t remember ever seeing a forecast for the south coast quite like this,’ he said.
Met Eireann’s Gavin Gallagher said it was unusual to have such a strong storm system in this part of the world.
‘It’s the strongest hurricane in the Atlantic on record in history.’
HSE community services, mental health day centres, and day hospitals were closed as were day services for older people and people with disabilities
The National Ambulance Service said it would prioritise emergency calls during the storm, but urged people to think carefully before calling.
‘It must be understood that our response to emergency calls may be hindered by road conditions and the number of emergency calls at any particular time. We will do our utmost to reach those in greatest need of our emergency services,’ it said.
Irish Water said it had incident plans in place and crews on standby to deal with the effects of the storm. It said it recognised that the predicted conditions are likely to result in power outages at critical water and wastewater installations which could compromise service delivery.
Irish Water also warned that heavy rainfall may also increase the risk of flooding.
An afternoon announcement confirmed that all schools across the country would remain closed today (Tuesday).
Meanwhile, Rosslare Lifeboat was scrambled to rescue the crew of a yacht caught in the storm.
‘We can’t figure out what they were doing out there in this weather,’ said Jamie Ryan, from Rosslare RNLI.
He said the yacht was under tow with the crew still on board.
‘They are getting fairly well battered. It was too rough to take them off,’ he said.
The lifeboat crew was having to contend with Force 9 rising to Force 10 winds, gusting to 60 knots.
Cllr Ger Carthy said he wanted to commend the crew of the lifeboat for taking to sea and risking their lives in such conditions and their families.
The stricken yacht, which called in a Mayday off Blackwater Head, 10 miles north of Rosslare Europort, was due into Rosslare late in the afternoon.