Ophelia: Islanders off Cork warn of crisis as power cut to storm gates

Residents of one of the country’s largest inhabited islands have warned of an emerging crisis after power cuts effectively crippled their multi-million euro harbour storm gates.

Islanders on Cape Clear, off Cork, pleaded with authorities to restore power quickly, as they also struggled to cope with water outages and expressed concerns about food shortages.

The island, eight miles off Cork and three miles from Fastnet Rock, where gusts of 103-knots (190km/h) were recorded on Monday, bore the brunt of Ophelia’s ferocity as it built from around 9am and peaked at 11am.