Storm Éowyn as it happened: ESB undertaking largest power restoration job it has ever done

ireland
Storm Éowyn As It Happened: Esb Undertaking Largest Power Restoration Job It Has Ever Done
Electric pole down in Dún Laoghaire in Dublin on Friday. Photo: Collins.
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Eva Osborne and Ellen O'Donoghue

  • A gust of 183km/h has broken the record for the highest wind speed Ireland has ever experienced
  • Around 540,000 homes, farms and businesses around the Republic are currently without power, according to ESB Networks
  • The ESB has said the damage caused by the storm is "unprecedented" and warned that some homes could be waiting over a week to be reconnected
  • Most red wind warnings expired at 11am/12pm, while the yellow and orange wind warnings for the rest of the country expired at 4pm
  • Donegal is now the only county still under a weather warning, with a status yellow wind warning in place until 11pm

9.25pm

Around 540,000 ESB customers are still without power tonight due to Storm Éowyn.

That is down from a peak of 768,000 earlier today.

The ESB have said it's already got electricity back to 228,000 homes, farms and businesses.

Attention has shifted to restoration efforts following nationwide Status Red weather warnings.

Broadband services have also been significantly impacted.


7.20pm

Cork County Council’s response to the damage caused by Storm Éowyn will continue throughout the weekend.

Main roads have reopened in N71 Glengarriff, Crosshaven, between Bandon and Ballineen, Ballinspittle, the N20 near Ballyhea, and the N72 near Mallow Racecourse.

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It says the clean-up operation will take several days to complete.

All road users are asked to take care and watch out for debris, fallen powerlines and downed trees.


7pm

More than 600,000 homes, farms and businesses remain without power on Friday evening.

The ESB said it is undertaking the largest power restoration job it has ever done, after Storm Éowyn rocked Ireland.

"This storm is bigger than any of the previous storms, at a peak we’ve reached 768,000 customers without power, and if you think back to storm Darragh that was only 395,000 so it’s a different scale," regional director with the ESB, Brian Tapley, said.

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5.55pm

It is expected the full restoration could take more than a week for some customers.

Jim Hernan of the ESB told Newstalk the damage to the network is unprecedented.

"Our prioritisation is around immediate safety and hazard issues, getting the damage assessed so we can go at the repairs but it is, absolutely this is a multi-day event for some of our customers, not for others, but given the extent of damage, it will be that for the last customers," he said.


5.30pm

Dublin Airport management have announced that due to minor storm damage to the façade of Terminal 2, the underpass road leading to Terminal 1 Departures Road and the Terminal 1 short-term car park is currently closed.

Diversions are in place, allowing access to both T1 & the car park, and the road will re-open on Saturday morning.


4.50pm

Rail services in Cork have resumed, as well as a number of intercity services between Dublin and the southwest of the country.

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Commuter services to Maynooth and the M3 Parkway are also back up and running.

However, work is continuing to clear a tree at Booterstown in Dublin before DART services start again.

A number of Irish Rail routes are unlikely to resume tonight, such as Dublin to Belfast, and Dublin to Galway and Westport, with a lot of trees down and level crossings having been damaged in the storm.


4.45pm

Around 120,000 homes, farms and businesses remain without water services on Friday evening.

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Stephen Burke, Regional Operations Manager at Uisce Éireann, told Newstalk that more are at risk due to the lack of power.

"There are a  further 670,000 people whose water supply is currently at risk, as we are drawing off reservoirs from plants with no mains power supply. Plants and pumping stations are heavily reliant on electricity as you know, the main areas currently impacted are Kerry, Clare, Tipperary, Waterford, Longford, Laois, and Donegal," he said.


4pm

Just one county in the Republic is now subject to a weather warning, as conditions from Storm Éoywn continue to abate.

Donegal is under a Status Yellow wind warning until 11pm tonight, while Met Éireann has also issued a Status Yellow snow and ice alert for the county from 9pm until 9am tomorrow.

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An Amber wind warning for Northern Ireland remains until 9pm, while a Yellow wind warning will be in place until 12am.

The North will also be under a Yellow snow and ice warning from 7pm this evening until 10am on Saturday morning.

However, Aoife Keely from Met Eireann has urged people to take care regardless.

"There’s still extreme caution needed today right across the country and especially when it comes to travelling, if non-essential travel can be avoided at all costs, even though the red warning has now lapsed, conditions still remain dangerous," she told Newstalk.

Meanwhile, Dublin Bus said 90 per cent of its fleet is now on the road.

The company says it's working hard to restore full service.


3.15pm

The unsettled weather is not due to end today, unfortunately.

There is a snow-ice warning issued for Donegal from 9pm Friday until 9am Saturday. Met Éireann says icy stretches and snow showers will lead to hazardous travelling conditions

If you are interested in seeing more on what the weather should look like over the weekend, we have published a piece which you can read here.


3.08pm

Around 160,000 homes and businesses with Eir have been left without broadband connectivity due to the storm.

There are also outages at around 30 per cent of mobile network sites.

Eir issued a statement saying that Storm Eyown has caused "significant and widespread disruptions" to telecommunications services across Ireland.

The storm has caused 26,000 fixed voice faults and 63,000 fixed broadband faults, primarily due to power outages at exchanges and on their core network.

"To support our customers during this challenging time, Eir has deployed backup power to 1,300 Fixed Network sites and 200 Mobile Network sites. eir has commenced mobile generator deployment where it is safe to do so and our teams remain on standby to restore services promptly once conditions permit," their statement said.

"Service restoration for core and mobile networks will proceed as a priority. It is expected that there will be a significant number of individual faults in addition to this, but the full impact of this will only become clear after power is restored and after resolution teams have prioritised making fallen poles and lines safe. Each individual fault will require a separate repair visit, and it will take some time for the full picture to emerge."


2.50pm

Dublin Bus have said that 30 per cent of its fleet is now on the road.

The company says it's working hard to restore full service.

A number of routes are diverted due to road closures.

Blake Boland from Dublin Bus told Newstalk that customers should plan their journeys ahead. 


2.30pm

Irish Rail has said that their only line operating at the moment is the Cork to Cobh/Midleton service.

Meanwhile, Angela Ducey in Cork told the Neil Prendeville Show on Cork's RedFM about how she and her family had to be rescued by Cork County Fire Service at the height of the storm overnight.

She said that a tree came crashing through an upstairs bedroom and onto their landing at 12:30am this morning.


2.20pm

Vodafone Ireland has issued a network update, saying that Vodafone Network Teams have been mobilised to effected areas of the country to restore connectivity.

Sheila Kavanagh, Network Director for Vodafone Ireland said that while the Vodafone network and services remain stable, the impact of the storm on ESB services "will have a knock-on effect on the network and customer services across the country.

"There is currently a 14 per cent impact of our total mobile network sites which are currently off-air. As expected, the most effected areas are Clare, Donegal, Galway, Kerry, Mayo, Sligo and the Midlands.”

“We have preplanned with supplementary power for our most critical sites. Back-up power systems have already been activated to ensure network stability. The positive news is that our Network Teams have now been mobilised to effected areas of the country and we are committed to a speedy recovery with the support of ESB,” she added.

Vodafone also issued advice to effected customers, saying that if the ESB restored power to your home, you may need to reboot your modem to restore service, and that if there is a fault in your area, you will receive confirmation from Vodafone via text to let you know they are working to restore service.

They further advised customers to check in on vulnerable neighbours to ensure they are back online, and said if you require any support, Vodafone teams are still available on 1907.


2.10pm

Midlands North West MEP Ciaran Mullooly has requested the European Commission to provide emergency aid to help cover the extensive damage caused by Storm Éowyn in the region.

In his statement, Mullooly urged the European Commission to act swiftly.

“It is urgent that the European Commission provide funding to support the Irish Government in repairing the immense damage caused by Storm Eowyn as soon as possible. This will be essential to allow the economy to return to normal and to help communities recover from this unprecedented storm," he said.

He also acknowledged efforts by the ESB to bring in French crews to assist with power restoration but called for additional support: “I have asked the European Commission to fund other states with qualified crews who can travel to Ireland immediately. Not in living memory have generations of people in Ireland experienced a storm of this magnitude.”

Mullooly has also called on insurance companies to exercise fairness and refrain from excessively increasing premiums on policyholders making claims, emphasising that this is an unprecedented situation.


1.40pm

Met Éireann has warned that strong winds pose a threat, despite the expiration of the red wind warnings.

Aoife Keely of Met Éireann said: "Given the amount of damage that this storm has brought to most areas of the country, there still will be a lot of damage around.

"It's going to take a lot of time to clear this up - things like trees down, power lines down, and so on."

The flight schedule at Cork Airport has returned to normal after the worst of the storm, however some delays can be expected

15 flights in and out of Cork were cancelled this morning.


1.10pm

Irish Rail has said no trains will be operating until further notice.

Crews are checking and clearing fallen trees and cables from lines. A number of level crossings have been damaged.

Irish Rail said updates will be done through social media as soon as any lines open, but said "significant disruption" is likely.

Clare County Council is warning that a large amount of debris has fallen on roads.

Local authority teams alongside the Fire and Rescue Service are working to clear routes.

However, the council has asked the public to be extremely cautious outdoors today, despite the weather warnings being downgraded.

Dublin Fire Brigade was called to an oil leak near the River Dodder after a downed tree ruptured a tank. Crews used drain blockers and dams to contain the spill.


12.45pm

725,000 homes and businesses are without power across the country as a result of the storm.

ESB crews will begin working on repairing faults but it could be a week before all customers are reconnected.

ESB's Siobhan Wynne is urging the public to be cautious as the storm eases.

"We really have suffered unprecedented and extensive damage to our network and that's right across the country," she said.

"I know that the worst of the storm may have passed for parts of the country, but those warnings are still in place.

"It's really important, from a public safety perspective, that if people are beginning to get out and about now and they come across fallen wires or damaged conductors that they would stay well clear of them, regard them as live, and report them to us on our emergency number."

In Dublin, the Dublin Fire Brigade has received a total of 77 calls for trees down, seven for power cables down, 17 relating to structures impacted and six relating to blocked roads.

The Eastern Regional Communications Centre based in Dublin Fire Brigade HQ, Townsend Street Fire Station has received over 120 emergency calls (non-ambulance) in total, over 95 of which are storm-related, for other Leinster counties (also including counties Cavan and Monaghan).

Firefighters are continuing to ask the public to continue to exercise extreme caution during the Orange Warning period.

Elsewhere, Longford Town FC's Bishopsgate Stadium has suffered from damage due to the storm.

The Luas operator has said services have not yet resumed, stating that inspections of the lines began at 11am, with maintenance teams assessing tracks, overhead powerlines, and substations for storm damage.


12.15pm

Dublin Bus has said its services are now resuming operation.

The company is warning services will be severely impacted in the hours after the red warning ends.

There are a number of road closures in place, meaning some routes are diverted.

Bus Éireann hopes to begin operating services again on most routes.

However, disruption is expected due to difficult driving conditions because of storm damage.

Bus Éireann urged passengers to follow updated details on their inidividual route and to check the Realtime App for more information.


11.35am

The windows at an office near the docks in Belfast blew in from the strong winds.

Damage has also been caused at the home of Newry City AFC.


11.10am

Kerry County Council is urging people to be aware of hazards like loose roof tiles in towns and villages, and has urged everyone to stay at home until council crews return to work.

Local authority staff are also working to clear damage and fallen trees on the roads.

Kerry County Council has appealed for patience, and said delays should be expected for those making necessary journeys.


10.30am

Connacht GAA's Air Dome has been extensively damaged by Storm Éowyn.

The all-weather facility at the province's Centre of Excellence in Co Mayo was torn down by strong winds in the early hours of this morning.

Connacht secretary John Prenty said the multi-million euro structure is fully insured and that they intend to rebuild it.

Elsewhere, the Blanchardstown ice rink has been severely damaged by the storm.

Photo: PA

Vehicles damaged by fallen trees and uprooted underground cables are among the incidents Dublin fire brigade has been dealing with.

Up to 8:30am this morning, crews had attended 25 storm related calls for help.

They included a lamp post which fell onto a house in Ringsend, while scaffolding has collapsed onto a road in Harold's Cross, blocking the entire road.


10am

Close to 300 flights scheduled to depart and arrive at Dublin Airport have been cancelled this morning.

Graeme McQueen from the daa said the strong winds forced planes to remain grounded.

"It'll be a lot of rebooking happening this morning. Our advice would be to do that from home, do it online," he said.

"Don't come to the airport to try and do that because you're looking at less staff in the airport and the airplines are struggling to get staff in today."

Flights have recommenced at the airport with the first departure of the day being a Ryanair flight to Birmingham at 9:27am.

However, McQueen said more cancellations are expected.


9.15am

Regional Manager with the ESB, Brian Tapley, has said it will be "well into next week" before all power can be restored.

Over 800,000 homes and businesses are without power across the entire island of Ireland, with 715,000 without power in the Republic and 93,000 without in the North.

"With Storm Darragh, it took us up to seven days to get all customers back and that was 395,000 customers," Tapley said.

"So we're talking over a week to get all customers back."

Approximately 150,000 premises in Ireland are at risk of water supply issues due to power outages affecting the water network.

Irish Water said the majority of these customers should still have water due to storage in reservoirs.

The agency said significant disruption is expected due to Storm Éowyn, adding that its crews will begin restoring supply when it is safe to do so.


8.50am

Some structures have been damaged around Dublin, with reports a lamp post fell onto a house in Ringsend.

As of 7am, Dublin Fire Brigade received 14 calls for assistance, which mostly involved trees and cables down.

It also responded to calls of vehicles being hit by trees, with firefighters urging the public to shelter in place and to avoid unnecessary travel while the red warning is in place.


8.20am

ESB Networks has confirmed that at least 715,000 homes and businesses around the Republic are currently without power.

Gardaí have received reports of a "serious" crash in Donegal. The N14 is currently closed between Lifford and Ballinalecky Cross.

Gardaí say they are not in a position to provide any more information at this time, but are urging the public to "shelter in place".

Radio Kerry heard emergency services had to come to the aid of two separate families in the county overnight as extreme winds caused structural damage to homes.

Several people were brought to safety from a house in the Dingle area when the gable wall on the house was blown in.

Separately a number of people were helped to safety when the roof of a house was badly damaged in Ballybunion.

No injuries were reported in either incident.

It is understood that a 19-year-old man has been taken to hospital in Cork city after a caravan in the Spring Lane Halting site in Ballyvolane turned over.

Units of the Cork City Fire Service attended at the scene. The man sustained non life threatening injuries.


7.45am

Met Éireann has updated orange wind warnings, with counties Cavan, Donegal, Monaghan, Connacht, Longford, Louth, Meath, and Westmeath remaining under an orange warning after their red warning expires at noon.

The orange wind warning will remain in place until 4pm on Friday.

A nationwide orange wind warning will be in place until noon, then counties Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Offaly, Wexford, Wicklow, and all of Munster will be under a yellow wind warning until 4pm.

Donegal will remain under a yellow wind warning until 11pm on Friday night.

Maximum gusts of 130km/h were recorded across Co Cork overnight with up to 40mm of rainfall during the same period which created multiple hazards.

There are trees down right across the county and power outages for more than 20,000 homes and businesses in the county.

Insurance

Insurance provider AXA has said there is no "Act of God'" clause preventing companies from paying out against storm damage.

Director of Retail, Mike Comerford, said such damage is covered by policies.

"Storm is covered under a household policy as part of your standard cover and, on a motor policy, if you have full comprehensive, it's covered under accidental damage," he explained.

"So there's no 'Act of God' exclusion on a storm."


7.05am

There are reports of a number of trees being down across the country, including road blockages in Kerry and a collision between a car and tree on the Malahide Road in Dublin.

The country’s airports have seen numerous flights cancelled, including over 200 in and out of Dublin, while gusts of 137 km/h have been recorded at Shannon.

Graeme McQueen from the daa said there are widespread cancellations at Dublin airport, and passengers need to keep in direct contact with their airlines.

8:55am is the first flight due to depart today, but McQueen said given the conditions at the moment, it is very hard to envision that happening.

Public transport has been cancelled until the red warnings have been lifted.

The public is advised to stay indoors while the red warning is in place, and to only travel if absolutely necessary.


6.30am

Severe winds have interrupted data supply from Met Éireann's stations in Belmullet, Mace Head, and Markree.

The weather service said observations are expected at a later time.


6.15am

The record for the maximum speed ever of a gust of wind in Ireland has been broken overnight, as a gust of 183km/h was recorded at Mace Head in Co Galway.

Met Éireann said the previous record of 182 km/h has stood since 1945.

Over half a million homes, farms, and businesses are without power as of 6am on Friday, with ESB Networks saying "significantly more power outages" are expected.

ESB Newtorks said the damage to the electricity network and the impact on customers has been "unprecedented".

Gusts of 139 and 137 km/h were also recorded in Knock and Shannon respectively.

The highest mean wind speed since the storm began was 130 km/h at Mace Head, which is a hurricane force wind.

Have you lost power as a result of the storm? You can check this ESB powercheck map to see what areas of the country are affected by power outages, when they began, and their expected repair time.

You can enter your details under 'keep me updated', and you can be sent updates via text message or email.

https://powercheck.esbnetworks.ie/

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