The owner of the Blarney Caravan and Camping Park, Con Quill, said he had been helping people put their campervans into storage as they spend the night elsewhere.
Extreme winds are being forecast between 9pm and midnight, with an orange warning for the rest of Munster, Galway and Mayo to last until 6am tomorrow morning while storm Ellen makes landfall.
Meanwhile, people in Cork are being warned to keep off the roads and stay indoors for the duration of tonight's status red wind warning.
Extreme winds
The head of Coast Guard operations Gerard O’Flynn is saying people should avoid the coast.
“We’re heading towards what we call astronomical high end, low water tide which means we get a very, very high tide and very, very low tide,” he said.
“We are asking people to stay away from the coast and to stay away from the sea and to avoid the temptation to try and get a fancy photograph or a selfie.”
Met Éireann forecaster Gerry Murphy said people across the country should take care:
"These will be damaging gusts in places especially in the coast and on higher ground. It will be an extremely winding evening and it is a red warning which we don't issue often.
"This is a potentially extremely windy in Cork between 9pm and midnight, so really great care should be taken. We're asking people to stay off the raod during that period."
🌪️Met Éireann have issued a RED wind warning for Cork in effect from 9pm tonight until midnight.
➡️Please secure loose items such as wheelie bins, garden furniture etc.
➡️Don't make any unnecessary journeys during that time.
➡️Our emergency crews are on standby.
Stay safe! pic.twitter.com/GoXO3xtMc6— Cork City Council (@corkcitycouncil) August 19, 2020
Cork County Council said response crews have been put on notice and are on standby to deal with any damage caused by Storm Ellen.
The council is expecting possible structural damage and fallen trees to arise from the status red wind warning.
People in the county are being urged to protect their property, avoid unnecessary journeys and stay indoors from 9pm until midnight tonight.
