3,000 still without power in Storm Frank aftermath
Gardaí have issued a revised traffic plan for the Cork county area in response to continuing issues with flooding.
In an updated advisory, they say:
- The N25 between Castlemartyr and Killeagh still remains severely flooded and will not re-open to traffic until tomorrow at the earliest.
- East bound traffic travelling from Cork – this traffic will be diverted left at the Traffic lights in Castlemartyr village onto the L3805 as far as Mogeely village. Diverted traffic will then turn right in Mogeely onto the L3809 Mogeely/Killeagh road and will rejoin the N.25 in Killeagh village. Diversion signs will be in place.
- West-bound traffic from Waterford/Youghal – this traffic will be diverted right in Killeagh village onto the L3809 Mogeely/Killeagh road as far as Mogeely. Traffic will then turn left in Mogeely onto the L3805 Mogeely/Castlemartyr Road and continue to Castlemartyr where they will turn right and rejoin the N.25 Cork/Waterford road.
ESB Networks has said 3,000 homes and businesses are still without power this afternoon as a result of Storm Frank.
Some areas in Co Cork are without power since yesterday and some areas are still flooded.
Meanwhile, the Taoiseach Enda Kenny has been making a public appearance in the Midlands today to see the flood damage first hand.
Mr Kenny has been criticised by the opposition for not being more visible since Storm Frank hit.
Thankful to extraordinary Emergency services for helping those hit by #StormFrank €430m set aside for flood relief. pic.twitter.com/3acAhC94as
— Enda Kenny (@EndaKennyTD) December 31, 2015
In Athlone, the River Shannon has returned record levels reached in 2009.
Met Éireann forecaster Joan Blackburn said we had been stuck in a series storms for the month of December.
"Usually when you get a very disturbed period of weather with theJet Stream over us, you get storm families coming one after another covering the same area, and unfortunately for the month of December we have been in the track of those storms."
Cork City Fire Service has today warned motorists about the dangers of driving through floods and standing waters.
It said that over the past few days, City Fire crews rescued a number of motorists who were trapped in their vehicles in flood waters.
The Cork City Flood Assessment Team met again this morning to review the situation.
The ESB has advised that they will continue to discharge waters from Inniscarra Dam at the rate of 250 cumecs.
Carrigrohane Road and Lee Road will remain closed and are likely to continue to suffer from flooding for some days. Traffic diversions are in place. The City Council is advising that there will be an “ongoing need to maintain high levels of preparedness for flooding” in these areas.
#Cork's county hall a lake where the Lee fields are. Cars abandoned by anglers rest.#stormFrank flood #cork city pic.twitter.com/zgs7dh8XZx
— 🌊 Cork Coast (@CorkCoast) December 31, 2015
At this time, flooding is not anticipated for Cork City Centre and business is functioning normally.
ESB Networks says that just over 4,000 homes and businesses are without power this morning as a result of Storm Frank.
“The places that were affected were Macroom, Bandon, Enniscorthy, Wellington Bridge, Kilmore, Bridgetown, Arklow and Brittas Bay,” said Bernadie Maloney, communications manager with ESB Networks.
“The main reason for the non-restoration of those areas was due to flooding – we can only restore power to flooded premises when it is safe to do so. Almost 130,000 customers have had their power restored since December 27.”
Morning! Want to know the forecast for the remaining hours of 2015? Let me help... MattT pic.twitter.com/dq1VqPn3sX
— BBC Weather (@bbcweather) December 31, 2015
Taoiseach Enda Kenny has confirmed that he will be visiting some of the areas affected by the recent storms.
He was also reviewing the latest updates on planning and response to the weather crisis from the National Co-ordination Group.
Met Éireann says that heavy rain and winds are likely to continue for at least the next week, which could cause further problems for flooded areas.
Scattered showers and longer outbreaks of rain. Some thunderstorms also. Becoming drier this evening. Windy and cold with highs of 4 to 9C
— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) December 31, 2015
“We forecast for about a week ahead,” forecaster Joan Blackburn explained. “And there’s really no great change in that – there’s spells of rain and strong winds at times.
“The problem really is that any additional rainfall, falling on the saturated ground, will cause problems of flooding, where normally that rainfall would cause problems – but because the ground is saturated, really any further rain does compound the flooding problems.”
Telecoms company eir reported 10,000 faults on its network with the number expected to rise.
“Specifically, damage has been caused by high winds, lightning and flooding. We have repaired over 43,000 faults since the beginning of December,” a spokeswoman said.
Eir said there had been a particularly high level of faults in Cork, Wexford, Mayo, Galway, Wicklow, Tipperary, Meath, Limerick, Kilkenny, Kildare and Donegal.
“Weather conditions remain very difficult in certain parts of the country and this is hampering repair efforts,” the spokeswoman said.
“However, we would like to reassure all customers who are currently experiencing disruption to their telephone and broadband service that we are working as hard as possible to restore service. All available staff have been diverted to repair teams across the country.”
Around 1,000 homes are still without power around the country this morning as emergency services continue to deal with the aftermath of Storm Frank.
Many parts of the west, south and north west are still heavily flooded.
A Status Yellow wind warning will be in place from 7am for counties Wexford, Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Sligo, Clare, Cork, Kerry and Waterford.
Gusts of up to 110km/h are expected.
Bernadine Maloney of the ESB said that conditions are hampering repair efforts, with some homes and businesses expected to be without power for days.
Some customers will be out overnight we have updated Powercheck.ie with restoration times, flooding and access has slowed repairs #staysafe
— ESB Networks (@ESBNetworks) December 30, 2015
"It's very difficult," she said. "I know that they're looking at ways to get to those areas, but obviously if the electrical services are underwater, it may be a number of days before they can restore power to those areas.
"I don't have an exact time on that yet."
Frost&icy patches at first Shwrs/longer outbreaks of rain this morn some wintry on high ground,risk of isol thunderstorms Bec windy High5-9C
— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) December 31, 2015
Emergency services are advising people in areas affected by flooding to avoid non-essential journeys and to be careful if driving in flooded areas.
All help in #Midleton is greatly appreciated, say Lauriston Park residents. #corkfloods pic.twitter.com/I6CZMhp3Ck
— Pádraig Hoare (@PodgeExaminer) December 31, 2015
The Coast Guard yesterday dealt with a number of call outs in Dublin where people had gotten into difficulty in coastal areas.
Fergus Cooney from Howth Coast Guard said that people should avoid piers and open areas of shoreline.
“Unfortunately, it is attracting some people, they see the pictures in the media or whatever, and they want to see it themselves,” he said.
“We would very much encourage people not to do it. It’s one thing that they’re endangering themselves, but they’re also putting the lives of the rescuers from the Coastgaurd and the lifeboat in danger as well if they wind up in an accident and it can very easily happen.
“The power of nature in terms of a wave coming in and taking you off your feet and landing you in the harbour can happen within seconds.”
In Northern Ireland, 300 homes are without power after thousands were cut off overnight, while more than 6,000 homes in Scotland lost power, with engineers hampered by conditions.
Gusts of up to 55 knots, or about 63 mph, disrupted flights in and out of Belfast International Airport where planes had to be held or diverted.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
