Irish Examiner View: After Storm Ellen, what next?

Members of Cork Civil defence on duty at a flooded Union Quay. Picture: Damien Storan/PA Wire

Storm Ellen has tested the adage ''where there's a will, there's a way'' in almost a new way. 

The scores of thousands of people working or studying from home because of the pandemic, and who were left without power because of the storm, must wonder what can happen next. 

So too must those responsible for health security at care centres that don't have an independent, storm-proof power supply.

At one point yesterday the ESB recorded that over 190,000 homes, businesses or farms were without power after Storm Ellen swept across the country leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. 

An estimated 32,000 homes or businesses are without power in Co Cork. The ESB advised customers impacted by outages to “prepare to be without electricity for a number of days”.

In normal circumstances, despite the ESB's good record, this would be stressful, in today's circumstance doubly so. It may be a moment to do as it says on the T-short: Stay calm and carry on.