The National Coordination Group this morning (14 February, 2014) discussed the on-going impact of the storms hitting the country.
The resources deployed by the ESB, which includes the Networks crews, supported by NIE colleagues and contractors have resumed work, from early this morning, to restore power to over 75,000 customers who are still without electricity.
Since Wednesday afternoon, power has been restored to over 185,000 customers, out of a total of 260,000 without supply.
Everything that can be done is being done to restore power but the advice is:
ü People should keep warm and take care with alternative forms of energy.
ü People are asked to check on vulnerable neighbours in their community in areas without power.
ü Persons with specific medical concerns are advised to contact their medical practitioners for advice.
On the water issue, power has been restored either through the work of the ESB networks or installing generators. Boil water notices are in place as a precautionary measure in conjunction with HSE. Drinking Water Incident Response Plans have been activated in areas still without water.
The response to Wednesday’s storm continues to be managed at local co-ordination centres, where the local authority, AGS and the HSE are working together on the priorities that they need to tackle in their areas for their local communities. Work is on-going to stabilise situations where damage has been caused to buildings, the main roads which were blocked by trees have being cleared and mainline rail has been restored. Work is on-going to clear the other roads and assessments are being made where trees have been weakened and may need to be taken down.
Met Éireann have said the current unsettled spell will continue today and into the weekend with heavy rain and very strong and gales.
The heavy rainfall will serve to top up the already near capacity of our rivers and still poses a risk. The local authorities will 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.
The public have been reminded to continue to follow the weather warnings and to heed the safety messages of the authorities. People should also be mindful when using candles and open heating sources in the home.
All road users are advised to exercise extreme caution as there is still the danger from fallen trees today. Because of persistent high winds there is a danger that further trees may become weakened and fall.
The group noted the on-going community resilience and praised 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.