34,000 homes and businesses without powerLandslide reported in Co GalwayWorst affected counties are: Donegal, Kerry, Cork, Galway, Mayo, Sligo, Leitrim and RoscommonNumber of rivers have broken their banks nationwide
Storm Bert is in full swing, with a potential threat to life, as council crews, fire services and the ESB tackle flooded roads, downed trees and power outages nationwide.
A Status Red warning – the highest level of alert – has expired for Cork and Galway as the storm brought torrential rain and winds gusting close to 110kmh overnight.
A Status Yellow weather warning for much of Ireland will resume right through the weekend as Met Éireann extended yellow warnings until 8am on Monday morning in some counties.
Landslide reported in Co Galway
A landslide has been reported in Co Galway this morning in Connemara, on the Maam to Leenane road. Please take care if you are travelling in the region.
Serious flooding in Donegal
Donegal has so far witnessed the worst of the damage from Storm Bert with flooding in Killybegs town and multiple roads closed due to flooding.
A number of rivers and streams across Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Galway and Mayo have broken their banks with dozens of roads closed as a result.
Road flooding has been reported at Castleisland and Killarney in Kerry, Abbeyfeale in Limerick, Bantry in west Cork and in various parts of Donegal.
Serious flooding in Abbeyfeale damaged a number of properties with Abbeyfeale soccer club’s pitch under 30cm-plus of water.
Dozens of roads nationwide have had to be closed because of the combination of flooding and fallen trees.
Around 100 rural and secondary roads are impassable because of flooding.
Photo credit: Eileen’s Unisex Hair Salon
34,000 now without power as ESB work to restore connections
In an update this afternoon, ESB confirmed that 34,000 homes and premises are still without power. Teams are working nationwide to restore power to those cut off by Storm Bert.
Abbeyfeale subject to severe flooding
The river Feale burst its banks, causing severe flooding nearby
Flooding reported in Kerry
A number of roads across Kerry are impassable due to heavy rain. Please check with local authorities before travelling this morning.
Another casualty of Storm Bert
Gougane Barra showing the effects of Bert’s downpour
Very powerful falls at Powerscourt this morning
Details of the new weather warnings from Met Éireann
Flooding causing delays and cancellations to public transport
Dublin Airport warns passengers of minor delays due to Storm Bert
One incoming flight performed a go-around before landing, while another flight has been cancelled this morning due to weather conditions at the other airport.
Met Éireann issues new Status Yellow weather warnings
Seven counties will be affected by wind warnings this evening, while a further seven will be affected tomorrow.
A Status Yellow wind warning for Cork, Kerry, Waterford, Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford and Wicklow comes into effect from 5pm today until 2am.
“Very strong and gusty south to southwest winds,” Met Éireann warned.
Fallen trees, debris, loose objects displaced and difficult travelling conditions are expected.
A Status Yellow wind warning for Clare, Kerry, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo and Sligo will come into effect from 8am tomorrow morning until 7pm.
While a Status Yellow wind warning has also been issued for Donegal from 8am tomorrow until 5am on Monday night.
Video shows extent of the flooding in Killybegs
An awful sight in Killybegs this morning as intense flooding can be seen in the town.
More events cancelled in Cork
Green Party cancels election event due to storm
CANCELLED: We are cancelling the Green Party’s Deposit Return Scheme event which had been due to take place in Sandymount today due to rain and wind. Apologies for any inconvenience.
Power cuts
The worst of the power cuts have been in Donegal where an estimated 15,000 people are so far with electricity due to fallen trees and damaged power lines.
However, thousands of householders and businesses are without power in parts of Kerry, Cork, Galway, Mayo, Sligo, Leitrim and Roscommon.
Flooding fears
A number of rivers and streams across Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Galway and Mayo have broken their banks with dozens of roads closed as a result.
Road flooding has been reported at Castleisland and Killarney in Kerry, Abbeyfeale in Limerick, Bantry in west Cork and in various parts of Donegal.
Storm Bert has played havoc with public transport across Ireland with dozens of Iarnrod Eireann and Bus Eireann services either delayed or cancelled because of the conditions.
60,000 now without power
The ESB has just confirmed over 60,000 homes and businesses are without power nationwide – but that could increase further as the day progresse. Even after red and Orange weather warnings expire, heavy rain will continue to fall on much of the country today.
Tens of thousands without power as Storm Bert lashes Ireland
However, Ireland has so far avoided the destructive flooding that emergency services had most feared from the second Atlantic storm of the season.
Flood-prone cities and towns including Galway and Bantry and Midleton in Cork remain on high flood alert as experts warned it could take several hours for the torrential rainfall to descend on urban areas via rivers and streams.
Flooding fears had been spurred by the combination of torrential rainfall and snow melt from last week’s Arctic spell.
Status Red alerts remain in place in both Galway and Cork until 10am with Status Orange alerts in place for six other counties.
Donegal has so far witnessed the worst of the damage from Storm Bert with flooding in Killybegs town and multiple roads closed due to flooding.
A number of rivers and streams across Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Galway and Mayo have broken their banks with dozens of roads closed as a result.
Road flooding has been reported at Castleisland and Killarney in Kerry, Abbeyfeale in Limerick, Bantry in west Cork and in various parts of Donegal.
Ralph Riegel
Cork County Council’s Crisis Management and Onsite Coordination Teams continued to meet throughout the night to monitor flooding and damage caused.
Crews there have been dealing with road closures due to flooding and a number of trees down overnight.
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A number of roads in the Mallow area have been closed due to flooding, as 758 customers are without power in the area due to a fault, the ESB said.
Power is also out for over 1,000 customers in Rathmore in Kerry, which is under a Status Orange warning.
A Status Orange rainfall warning for Waterford, Kerry, Clare, Mayo, Sligo and Leitrim is in place until 10am today.
Several bridges in Cork have been made impassable due to flooding, the council has said.
There were also reports of a tree down on the N25 on the Castlemartyr side of Midleton, which was removed by Cork County Fire Service.
Meanwhile, Galway County Council has warned of surface water flooding in the Clifden area.
In an update, Met Éireann said it will be very wet and windy this morning with widespread rain and flooding in places as warnings still in place.
Showery rain will move in from the west this afternoon, which will be heavy at times. Hail and thunder will also be possible.
The impact of the second Atlantic storm of the season was made worse in some areas by the lingering effects of the Arctic weather earlier this week.
Met Éireann officials had previously admitted they were concerned some areas could transition from snowfalls to torrential downpours, with the danger of severe local flooding.
There were also fears that rainfall could reach up to 80mm across Galway and Cork in a matter of hours. The average rainfall for the entire month of December is 123mm.
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Given the potential risk to life, people in Status Red areas are urged to remain indoors, avoid travelling and stay clear of swollen waterways.
West Cork and parts of Connemara in Galway are expected to bear the brunt of Storm Bert
Public transport will not operate while the alert is in place.
Donegal will be covered by a Status Yellow snow, ice, rain and wind warning until midday.
A Status Yellow wind warning for Cork, Kerry, Waterford, Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford and Wicklow will take effect from 5pm this evening, until 2am.
Met Éireann indicated last night that virtually all counties would receive around 30mm of rainfall, but the downpours in some counties, especially Galway and Cork, have the potential to greatly exceed 40mm to 50mm.
In Cork, the greatest concern was focused on flood-prone towns including Midleton and Bantry, neither of which has flood defence schemes in place.
Such heavy rain, combined with snow melt from the Arctic weather, could lead to severe flooding damaging property and swamping roads.
Met Éireann’s Liz Walsh warned that the potential impact of Storm Bert is significant.
Nationwide, over 10,000 people lost power due to the fall-out from the icy conditions
“There is a lot of rain in this Atlantic system. Upwards of 40mm is possible in other areas in quite a short period,” she said.
“A potentially worrying aspect of this level of rainfall, particularly in the north-west, is that you could see a period of snow before the rain begins in earnest. If you get sleet and snow and then a rapid melt on top of heavy rain, it could cause serious flooding issues.”
Freezing conditions on the Sally Gap in Co Wicklow. Photo: Collins
Severe weather assessment teams met in Cork, Galway and other counties, with council crews and fire brigade units on standby to deal with issues.
However, the public were warned that repair crews can only be deployed when it is deemed safe to do so.
Nationwide, over 10,000 people had already lost power earlier this week due to the fall-out from the icy conditions, most of them in Galway, Mayo, Clare, Limerick, Cork and Kerry.
Repair teams began work immediately, and all households had power supplies restored by Thursday evening. ESB crews remain on standby.
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