The National Coordination Group this morning (17 February, 2014) reviewed the recent severe weather which hit the country.
At the start of the meeting the group expressed their condolences to the family and colleagues of Michael O’Riordan who died over the weekend while restoring communications.
Met Eireann has advised of normal winter weather for the days ahead.
The resources deployed by the ESB, includes Networks crews, supported by NIE and additional NIE staff have arrived this morning to assist in the restoration process. Since last Wednesday the ESB has now restored supply to over 244,000 customers and are working on the remaining 16,000. But ESB has advised that some people will still be without power over the next couple of days. The website www.esbie/esbnetworks.ie gives details of the expected restoration times and people are advised to check the information on the website out.
People are asked to be extra vigilant and to check on elderly and vulnerable neighbours in areas which are still without power. An Garda Síochána continues to maintain contacts with people in isolated areas. People are advised to:
- keep warm and take care with alternative forms of energy.
- check on vulnerable neighbours in their community in areas without power.
- where they have specific medical concerns to contact their medical practitioners for advice.
Power has been restored to most water treatment plants. Boil water notices are in place as a precautionary measure in conjunction with HSE. But these are being removed as supply issues are resolved.
Met Éireann has advised that the there are no warnings in place. Nonetheless the threat of additional rainfall may top up the already near capacity of our rivers and still poses a risk. The local authorities continue to monitor the position in relation to river levels generally.
The ESB are monitoring the levels on the rivers Liffey, Lee and Shannon and discharges are being managed in conjunction with local authorities. Information on the river levels is available from www.waterlevel.ie
The public has been reminded to continue to follow the weather warnings and to heed the safety messages of the authorities. People should also remain careful when using candles and open heating sources in the home.
The group noted the on-going community resilience and commended members of the public for heeding safety advises.
The National Co-ordination Group will continue to monitor the situation
National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management
Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government
Custom House
Dublin 1
ENDS
Weather Warnings are presented in three categories:
A. STATUS YELLOW - Weather Alert - Be Aware
The concept behind YELLOW level weather alerts is to notify those who are at risk because of their location and/or activity, and to allow them to take preventative action. It is implicit that YELLOW level weather alerts are for weather conditions that do not pose an immediate threat to the general population, but only to those exposed to risk by nature of their location and/or activity.
B. STATUS ORANGE - Weather Warning - Be Prepared
This category of ORANGE level weather warnings is for weather conditions which have the capacity to impact significantly on people in the affected areas. The issue of an Orange level weather warning implies that all recipients in the affected areas should prepare themselves in an appropriate way for the anticipated conditions.
C. STATUS RED - Severe Weather Warning - Take Action
The issue of RED level severe weather warnings should be a comparatively rare event and implies that recipients take action to protect themselves and/or their properties; this could be by moving their families out of the danger zone temporarily; by staying indoors; or by other specific actions aimed at mitigating the effects of the weather conditions.