Storm Eleanor didn’t hit Wexford too hard
WEXFORD escaped the brunt of Storm Eleanor last Tuesday and Wednesday despite stormforce winds and considerable rainfall across many parts of the county.
The New Ross district was the worst affected with flash flooding while there were a small number of trees down in the Enniscorthy district.
However Wexford County Council was prepared for the worst and after Met Eireann issued an Orange Wind warning for large parts of Ireland including Wexford as Storm Eleanor moved in from the Atlantic the council’s Emergency Management Committee held an urgent meeting on Tuesday afternoon.
The Committee took the decision to place all council emergency services crews on standby throughout the evening and also directed that Wexford Civil Defence teams be on standby also. Flood barriers were also erected at key locations while the council’s out of hours emergency line was also manned.
It said its ‘main concern is in respect of severe winds, as speeds 65 to 80 km/h, gusting to 110 to 130 km/h., were expected’. The storm was expected to be most severe in Wexford between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Tuesday evening.
The council has advised the public to avoid unnecessary journeys, to stay away from piers and coastal areas and to be alert for downed trees and electricity wires.
Fortunately the county was relatively unscathed in the storm with reports of a small number of trees down in the Enniscorthy District, and some instances of minor flooding in New Ross and Ballyhack, Arthurstown and Wellingtonbridge areas.
Wexford County Council received eight storm-related calls to its out of hours emergency contact number between 5 p.m. on Tuesday and 9 a.m. on Wednesday morning. All incidents were responded to immediately by the council’s on-call crews.
Following on from Storm Eleanor the council praised its ‘emergency response personnel, outdoor staff, fire crews, engineering and management staff and Civil Defence volunteers for their swift and professional response to the potential threat posed by this latest storm incident’.