Deadly Ophelia – brace yourself and stay safe
Status Red across nation as all schools, crèches and colleges closed for safety Warnings about power cuts, flying debris, high waves, traffic disruption Bills for devastation after storms expected to reach up to €700m
ONE of the strongest storms to hit Ireland in recorded history will wreak havoc across the country today.
Hurricane Ophelia is due to touch down on the south-west coast at around 6am today with winds of up to 140kmh.
Met Éireann has warned the storm poses a risk to life and people have been advised to stay indoors.
Schools, colleges and crèches across the country are closed and gardaí have warned against all non-essential travel.
Bus Éireann will not run any services today between 5am and 2pm and it will review the situation at that time before deciding if any routes will be reinstated.
Aer Lingus, British Airways and Air France have all cancelled some flights.
The HSE has cancelled all hospital out-patient appointments, saying they will be rescheduled as soon as possible. Patients who are due to undergo a planned procedure today should contact their hospital to see if it is going ahead. However, the HSE said only urgent procedures would be carried out today.
Chair of the National Emergency Co-ordination Group Sean Hogan said employees should not travel to work in the storm.
The Defence Forces and ESB crews are on standby to deal with fallen trees, downed power lines and flooding.
Experts predict the hurricane could cause up to €700m worth of damage.
Met Éireann’s Evelyn Cusack described it as an “unprecedented weather situation” as a Status Red weather warning was last night extended to cover the entire country.
ONE of the strongest storms to hit Ireland in recorded history will today wreak havoc across the country.
Hurricane Ophelia touches down on the west coast at around 6am, in an unprecedented extreme weather event for this part of the world.
Met Éireann forecasts winds of up to 140kmh, with Status Red warnings in place for the entire country.
Officials have said these warnings should be taken very seriously and advised people to stay indoors.
Presenting Met Éireann’s model for the path of the storm at an emergency briefing yesterday, forecaster Evelyn Cusack said it was alarming. “That is because it is an unprecedented weather situation,” she said.
Just 15 hurricanes have passed within 200 nautical miles of the Azores archipelago of islands since scientific monitoring began in 1851. And Hurricane Ophelia is the strongest.
Sean Hogan, chair of the National Emergency Co-ordination Group, which met yesterday, likened the event to Hurricane Debbie, which hit Ireland in 1961, killing 17 people.
“The nature of the extreme weather conditions are expected to be comparable with, or perhaps to exceed those, of Hurricane Debbie in 1961,” Mr Hogan (inset, below) said. “The swathe of the area affected by the storm may exceed 100km.”
Mr Hogan’s advice for employees was they should not travel to work in the storm.
“You should not be travelling, you should not be out in this storm. This is an extreme weather event. Hurricane Debbie killed... we do not want to be back here on Tuesday with reports on deaths,” he said.
Ms Cusack said Met Éireann took the “unprecedented step” of issuing a Status Red warning more than 48 hours before a weather event.
“We issue very few red alert warnings and certainly, they are always within a 24-hour period,” she said.
“With Ophelia strengthening even more than predicted, a destructive wind storm in Ireland on a par with some of the most damaging in the nation’s history is becoming increasingly likely,” US-based commercial weather service, Weather Underground, reported.
BBC Weather reported the storm was the strongest on record this far east of the Atlantic.
Mayo, Kerry, Galway, Clare, Cork and Limerick were issued Status Red warnings over the weekend and the list was expanded yesterday to include Wexford and Waterford. However, last night the Status Red was extended yet again to cover the entire country.
The
Defence
Forces have been mobilised to help with preparations for the storm and have been helping to fill sandbags in the Status Red counties.
“The Defence Forces deployed troops to Tralee, Co Kerry, in response to a request from Kerry County Council,” said Lieutenant Colonel David Dignam.
“In addition, the 12th Infantry Battalion has today stood up a task unit. This task unit will deploy to Tralee,” he said, adding troops were also being stood up in Cork, Galway and Kilkenny to respond.
Military engineering assets from Collins Barracks in Cork, including pumps, plant machinery, chainsaws, boats and generators, were also being stood up.
Addressing the emergency briefing, Garda Paul Carney warned road users across the country to remain vigilant. “We in An Garda Síochána have serious concerns about road users, especially cyclists, pedestrians, motorcyclists and trucks,” he
said. “These vehicles are vulnerable to high winds and the weather conditions we are facing. We would ask everyone to consider their journey. Is it necessary?”
The ESB has warned it expects extensive power outages as a result of the storm.
The Department of Education ordered all schools and universities to remain closed today.
The National Emergency Co-ordination Group and the Department of Children also advised all crèches and Montessori facilities to close.
Cancelled
The Department of Social Protection said all its offices would be closed today. There will be no impact on payments.
The HSE cancelled all non-essential health clinics across those Munster counties in the firing line for the storm while all out-patient appointments have been also been postponed.
The Road Safety Authority (RSA) said driving tests in Status Red warning zones had been cancelled and told candidates in those zones not to turn up for their tests.
“The RSA will be in touch at a later date to reschedule your driving test,” it said.
An Post has suspended services in Cork, Kerry, Waterford, Galway, Clare and Limerick. It will be reviewing its services elsewhere in the country.
The Courts Service said that most sittings around the country were postponed, although some custody hearings of the District Court would go ahead.
Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan said last night that he has decided to postpone a Citizenship Ceremony due to take place in Dublin today, saying it would be unfair to ask people to travel in dangerous conditions.
Meanwhile, the Passport Office in Cork and Dublin will be closed today.
The Airtricity League game between Cork City and Derry City, which was to take place today at Turner’s Cross, has been rescheduled for tomorrow.
Cork City Council acknowledged it could face tidal flooding across the city as a consequence of the storm.
The Cork City crisis management team met yesterday evening to discuss the threat facing Ireland’s second city.
“Emergency crews are on standby,” a spokesperson said.
“At present, data suggests that Morrison’s Island and South Terrace are the areas of the city most likely to be affected by any flooding.”
Meanwhile, places for around
120 rough sleepers will be made available at the Capuchin Centre on Bow Street in Dublin.
The Peter McVerry Trust said it would open up communal spaces such as kitchens and dining rooms to provide extra emergency shelter. Its 64-bed night only service will be open
24 hours.
‘You should not be out in this storm. This is an extreme weather event, we do not want to be reporting deaths’