Thousands without power and bus and rail disrupted as status red warning in force

Good morning. My name is Ronan McGreevy and I will be bringing you live coverage of Storm Debi today. If you have any observations, photographs or comments, you can contact me at ronan.mcgreevy@irishtimes.com. So, what is the latest on Storm Debi?

Main points

More than 50,000 homes homes and businesses are without powerRed weather warnings are in place for 10 counties until 7am and 9amMet Éireann is warning of a “potential danger to life” due to powerful wind gusts from Storm DebiSchools and preschools in 20 counties where status red and orange wind alerts are in place have been told not to open until 10amStatus red wind warnings are in place for east Galway, Roscommon, Dublin, Kildare, Laois, Louth, Meath, Wicklow, Offaly and WestmeathGusts of 115km/h have been recorded overnight in AthenryThere are multiple reports of trees falling on roads across the countryMet Éireann said the storm was likely to be “short and sharp” and track over the country quite quickly and advised people to try to “sit it out”.The National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management said Storm Debi had dangerous features and would cause “extremely hazardous” conditions in coastal areas and has advised people to work from home where possible.

Public transport

Bus Éireann will not operate school transport this morning in counties that have red and orange warningsNo Luas services will operate until after 10amIarnród Éireann has imposed a nationwide speed restriction of 80km/h (50m/h) which will result in service delaysLengthy delays are expected across the transport network on Monday, including at ports and airports

Following the issuing of an updated red weather warning for many counties for early tomorrow morning,

Court buildings in the counties affected by any red weather warning will remain closed for the duration of the warning.Courts will not sit before 11:30am in the counties impacted by the red warning.Court users will be informed of these and any other updates via the courts.ie website and the Courts Service’s Twitter / X account.

Red Weather Alert – Galway City Local Update:

(Monday 13.11.2023 8:10am) The Local Coordination Group (Galway City Council, HSE, An Garda Siochána and Fire Service) met again at 7:00am on Monday 13 November to review the current status following severe weather/ Storm Debi Red Alert.

Met Eireann extended the Red Alert to 7am overnight.

Galway City Council Crews have commenced review of impacts and will attend to property and homeowners in the affected areas.

A number of properties have been flooded as a result of high winds, high waves and high surge that corresponded with the high tide overnight in Galway Bay.

Galway City Council will provide assistance where required to affected property owners.

For anyone that needs assistance, Galway City Council can be contacted at 091 536 400.

Roads are currently flooded/ impassible on:

Flood StreetLong WalkSpanish archDominick Street (around Pump Lane)Seapoint to Business SchoolToft ParkSalthill car parkRockbarton Road West beside Salthill HotelRockbarton Road North beside LeisurelandPromenade – at CoCo CaféBothar na dTreabh (midway between Tuam Road/ Menlo Park junction) is down to one laneMutton Island entrance (Grattan Road) to fire stationGalway Technical Institute (GTI) on Fr Griffin Road, to Wolfe Tone Bridge and outside the fire station

Other alerts:

Dominick Street – reports of debris on the roadRiverside – Reports of tree downSilverstrand – reports of large rocks thrown up across the car parkRoscam – trees down

The following roads remain closed at this time:

Salthill – from the mini-roundabout at Threadneedle Road (R336)/ Upper Salthill Road, along Seapoint Promenade (R336) to Galway Business School.Silverstrand RoadRosshill Road – a section of the Rosshill Road along the forest area will be closed off to the public.Ballyloughane Road (beach) remains open, but road users are advised to avoid the area until clean up operations are complete.From Mutton Island entrance to the Fire Station is also closed.

Car parks at Salthill, Tofts, Sliverstrand, and Ballyloughane Road remain closed.

Sandbags:

Sandbags have been placed at following locations for the public overnight:

Tourist Kiosk SalthillCladdagh HallFire Station Fr Burke RoadSpanish ArchDocks beside the Pedestrian Crossing (St Nicholas Street)

Road users are requested to be alert to surface water and debris on roads.

Clean up operations will take place throughout the day.

The Local Coordination Centre will meet again at 10am this morning (13/11/2023), with further updates to issue.

There has been widespread damage in both Galway city and county, according to Gerry O’Malley, Galway’s chief fire officer.

Overtopping of waves have caused flooding Oranmore and Clarinbridge are the worst affected areas in the county.

The crews are getting out from first light. Council crews attended 10 incidents and rescued eight people.

There were three road traffic incidents.

“The worst of the storm is over, but the damage is done,” he said. There is a “huge amount of debris” on the road.

“I would ask the public to be patient. Our crews are getting to people.”

There are now more than 100,000 households without electricity, Brian Tapley from ESB Networks told Morning Ireland.

The worst affected areas are in north Galway and Co Longford. Crews have been out from first light.

He said it will be “late into the night” before all customers have their electricity restored.

He anticipated the “vast majority” of customers will be reconnected tonight.

Customers can track updates on powercheck.ie

Keith Leonard, of the National Emergency Coordination Group, told Morning Ireland:

There are a “huge amount of trees down” on the pathway of the storm. There are 58,000 homes without electricity and that’s expected to rise.

However, there has been little in the way of structural damage. It has been the most intense storm of the four that have occurred so far this storm season.

“I would advise people to be very careful for the rest of the day,” he said, as the wind will remain strong.

Trinity College Dublin (TCD) is closed until 11am.

On Morning Ireland junior minister Patrick O’Donovan said local authorities have only started going out on the roads now where the red warning has been lifted. He urged motorists to avoid all unnecessary travel until the warning has passed. There are “literally tens of thousands” of homes without power at present. He said it was up to public transport operators to decide how safe it is for them to operate.

RTÉ’s forecast is for the storm to clear in the afternoon. There will be lingering wind and rain, but nothing like the storm that is now passing rapidly over the country. The weather will stay unsettled for the rest of the week.

Passengers travelling through Dublin Airport on Monday are being advised to keep in touch with their airlines after Storm Debi forced the cancellation of some flights and delayed others.

More than five flights into and out of the hub have been cancelled this morning, according to the Dublin Airport website, and more have been delayed due to high winds.

In a statement, Graeme McQueen, media relations manager for Dublin Airport operator DAA, said some transatlantic flights into Ireland had delayed their arrivals “to avoid the heart of the storm”, which may result in delays.

There may be knock-on effects for flights later in the day, Mr McQueen said, urging passengers to keep in touch with their airlines throughout the day.

Notice from Bus Éireann:

Bus Éireann Service disruption due to the arrival of Storm Debi on Monday, 13 November 2023

Due to the Red Weather warning there will be NO SCHEDULED SERVICES between 05:00am and 11:00am in the following areas. A phased resumption of services in these areas will commence from 11am and full details will be updated on our website:

CavanDublinKildareLaoisLouthMeathMonaghanOffalyWestmeathWicklow

DCU has cancelled all its lectures until midday.

Dublin City Council’s Crisis Management team met on Sunday night due to Storm Debi.

The council is advising that all commuters – including pedestrians, cyclists, motorists and public transport users – take extreme care on the roads and to assess the risk of travel.

Non-essential council staff are to work remotely today (Monday), where possible, until 10am.

City Hall will remain closed until 10am as will all city libraries along with city parks sports and recreation facilities.

Council crews were on standby overnight and will be again on Monday to assess any damage caused as a result of the storm and to carry out repairs.

The council’s crisis management team will reconvene this morning.

Seamus Mulconry, general secretary of the Catholic Primary Schools Management Association, reiterated advice to parents not to bring their children to school before 10am, and to stay in touch with the school to make sure it’s safe to do so then.

The Department of Education last night issued advice to schools to stay closed until 10am.

Bus Éireann will not operate services this morning until 10am. Neither will Dublin Bus nor Luas. There is a speed restriction of 80 km/h in place across the entire rail network.

More from Graeme McQueen: “Dublin Airport is open and operational this morning. As of 6.30am, four incoming and four outgoing flights between Dublin-Amsterdam and Dublin-London have been cancelled. Some disruption is possible today as a result of Storm Debi. Passengers are advised to contact their airline for updates on specific flights.

“Passengers travelling to and from Dublin Airport are advised to take extra care this morning. With some bus services not running until after 9am, passengers may need to consider an alternate option. Parking spaces are available in our car parks at Dublin Airport and, so far this morning, taxis are in good supply.”

Graham McQueen, media relations manager with DAA, said that some transatlantic flights into Ireland had delayed their arrivals to avoid the heart of the storm. This may result in some delays. He advised intending passengers to keep in touch with their airlines, as there may be knock-on effects on flights later in the day. No issues had been reported in Cork airport.

Barry Kenny, communications manager of Irish Rail, warned commuters they could expect some quite significant delays this morning, but no services have been cancelled so far. An 80km/h restriction is in place across the rail network this morning.

Services are delayed between Athlone and Portarlington due to fallen trees, and trees down in Edgeworthstown and Longford are also delaying services. Mr Kenny said crews have been out clearing lines since early this morning.

So, where are we?

Well storm Debi is passing quickly over the country and reports of damage are and disruption are starting to emerge.