The NECG met again this afternoon and the following is an update on the situation:
· ESB Networks has restored over 280,000 Homes and Businesses since Monday.
· Water has been restored to 84,000 customers, down from a peak of 109,000. Of the 148 wastewater schemes affected, 104 are back up and running.
· Our road networks are open again, subject to some specific local issues.
ESB Networks Power Restoration
· ESB Networks has restored over 280,000 Homes and Businesses since Monday.
· ESB Networks have published “estimated restoration times” for all customers who are still without power on its PowerCheck app and on its website
www.esb.ie/esb-networks/powercheck
· Every available resource continues to be used to restore all services; in addition to the 2,500 own resources, and the 1,000 external Contractors, 250 technicians will be arriving from Northern Ireland, Great Britain and France to provide support over the next few days.
Defence Forces
· Chainsaw teams have been assisting ESB Networks in Tivoli, Cork,
· Tomorrow’s deployment will include more reconnaissance flights by the Air Corps in the South and South East and transporting ESB personnel to islands off the coast, weather dependent.
· One 10,000 litre water tanker has been deployed to Galmoy in support of Kilkenny County Council.
· 2 EC135 Helicopters have been sent to support ESB Networks on aerial recce of powerlines in North East and South West
· 2 Chainsaw teams have been deployed to the Leefields area, Cork City conducting route/road clearance.
Key Public Safety & Information Messages
· ESB Networks is highlighting the dangers posed by fallen live wires and is advising the public and the emergency services to stay away from these fallen cables and to report such cases to it immediately. ESB Emergency Services can be contacted at 1850 372 999.
· Currently, there are 105,000 homes and businesses without power. Customers can check their estimated reconnection time regarding their individual situation using the PowerCheck app or by logging onto (https://www.esbnetworks.ie/). Cork, Tipperary and Kerry have been worst affected, and it is anticipated that it will be early next week before power is fully restored to a small number of customers in these areas.
· Substantial progress was made yesterday with local authorities’ right across the country clearing road obstacles to enable traffic to move. Even in those counties with the worst damage in the south and east of the country 95% of blockages had been cleared by last night. The clean-up work has continued today and with the exception of a very small number of locations where there are specific safety issues, roads are clear again.
· Health services will return to normal over the next few days, however some continued disruption is likely. The public can expect some delays in their appointments with the HSE contacting clients whose appointments have been cancelled to reschedule them as soon as possible.
· The public are asked to continue to check on vulnerable and isolated neighbours. If they need to make contact with services please assist them utilising the phone numbers that have been publicised.
· Phone charging in areas without power has a been identified as an issue, and it is suggested that portable battery packs could be obtained, in particular for those more vulnerable or isolated people who may not be able to obtain them themselves. People are also advised to make use of their car for charging their phones.
Notes to Editors:
Report of the National Emergency Coordination Group Meeting
The National Emergency Coordination Group met again today (18 October 2017) to continue its assessment of any issues which have emerged in the aftermath of Storm Ophelia.
Updates were given by the various sectors regarding outstanding issues and the enormous progress that has been made, with more to do.
It is anticipated that the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government as the Lead Government Department for the response to severe weather will continue to monitor the progress of the response and liaise with other Government Departments who will continue to engage with service providers, such as Irish Water and ESB Networks in relation to their own sectors, although this will not be at national coordination level. These engagements continue as a matter of routine.
Local Government
The meeting received an update from the Local Government Sector, local authorities being the Lead Agency in the response to severe weather, detailing the current situation on the ground countrywide. All local authority Severe Weather Assessment Teams were activated in response to the Red Level Warning and have been actively monitoring the situation since.
Local authorities’ outdoor crews continue to work removing trees and other obstacles blocking roads across the country. Local authorities will also continue their assessments of the damage caused to dwellings and other buildings/ structures, coastal infrastructure, parks and amenities.
The Civil Defence have been assisting the local authorities and ESB Networks in various regions around the country.
The Local Government sector currently predicts it has the capacity and resources required to deal with the aftermath of Storm Ophelia. Copernicus has been activated by the NDFEM and continues to provide maps which available on http://emergency.copernicus.eu.
ESB
At the peak of the storm the number of homes and businesses without supply was approximately 385,000. Over the last 48 hours, 280,000 homes and businesses (73% of those affected) have had power restored reducing the number of homes and businesses without power to 105,000. ESB Networks has currently identified 5,700 locations along its network requiring repair and has 1,600 technicians with an extra 1000 external contractors working to carry out repairs at these locations. Minister Denis Naughten personally met with some of the international crews today at the ESB Training Centre in Portlaoise and thanked them for their assistance on behalf of the Government.
Crews from across the UK and France are expected Wednesday through mutual aid agreements to assist ESB Networks in carrying out the repair work with 250 extra technicians available. The Air Corps have been assisting ESB Networks by providing helicopters in identifying further locations along the network where faults may have arisen. The Defence Forces have also been tasked with clearing hard to reach areas where faults have been identified.
ESB Networks has created a priority list for restoration; these are the elderly and vulnerable, hospitals and people with medical needs, telecom providers and Irish Water sites. Efforts are currently focused on restoring power to these prioritised customers. Overnight ESB Networks provided up to date estimated restoration times for all customers and customers can check their personal fault situation with the aid of ESB’s PowerCheck app or by logging onto ESB Networks site (https://www.esbnetworks.ie/).
Further to the damage assessments received, ESB Networks is working towards restoring electricity to most customers within the next 3 - 4 days. Cork, Tipperary and Kerry have been worst affected, and it is anticipated that it will be early next week before power is fully restored to a small number of customers in these areas.
Transport
No major issues have been reported with most public transport services returning to normal today. There are some local disruptions to the road network, with all national routes open. Bus and rail travel is operating as normal with some local disruptions. Air and ferry travel is operating as normal.
Schools
Most schools reopened today with the exception of 40 schools where issues, mainly problems with roofs have been identified and are currently been accessed.
Defence Forces
Defence Forces personnel remain on standby at a number of locations in the South and Mid West regions, and are already assisting some local authorities. The Defence Forces has a number of resources available if required, including engineering capabilities, transport support (4X4 High wheel base vehicles), pumping, clearing trees (chainsaw crews) and helicopters, which can be made available to local authorities on a priority basis, as requested.
Health
Health services are returning to normal. Some disruption is still likely over the coming days due to a number of factors including road conditions, building damage and power outages. The public can expect some delays in their appointments. Some day services in the south of the country have been affected, with all patients contacted regarding any rescheduling.
Irish Water
Disruption to electricity supply has caused operational issues at a number of water treatment plants in the south of the country. As of 14:00 hours today, there are approximately 25,000 customers without water. The affected counties are:
Wexford
Kilkenny
Waterford
Cork
A priority list has been compiled and is currently with ESB Networks, who are working at full capacity to resolve the issues identified. Irish Water has deployed 50 portable generators to a number of sites, as an interim measure, until power is restored. 9 boil notices are currently in place. 54 wastewater treatment plants have been affected by power outages, with 98% restored, with the assistance of ESB Networks and the use of portable generators.
The public can check Irish Water’s website for updates regarding their supply, with the location of tankers available.