Tag Archives: red alert

Employers have been advised to remain vigilant this week due to anticipated worsening of weather conditions over the next couple of days and the possibility of a “Red weather warning” being issued later on in the week. “Unlike Ophelia, we now have the opportunity to prepare for this event and we advise employers to take time to put measures in place to reduce the potential business impact this warning could have”, a spokesperson for ISME, the employers’organisation has cautioned. During Ophelia, widespread business closures occurred at short notice. While it is very possible that business closures will not be necessary on this occasion, businesses should prepare for the possibility. “As employers have a duty of care for all employees under the Safety Health and Welfare at Work Act, a key consideration needs to be whether, in the circumstances, it is safe to ask employees to travel to work, or to undertake their work. The potential risk could be greater for …

  Clare remains on red alert as emergency services finalise preparations for the impact of Hurricane Ophelia. Mean wind speeds in excess of 80 kilometres per hour and gusts in excess of 130 kilometres per hour are expected, potentially causing structural damage and disruption, with dangerous marine conditions due to high seas and potential flooding. Hurricane conditions may last until midnight, according to the weather forecast. Gale-force winds are expected to begin across southern parts by early Monday morning and gradually spread northwards across the country during the day. Hurricane-force winds are expected to reach southern coastal counties by late Monday morning with storm force winds spreading inland and northwards across the country during Monday. Preparations to protect lives and property should be taken if possible. Wind speeds atop and on the windward sides of hills and mountains are often up to 30 percent stronger than the near-surface winds indicated in weather arnings and in some elevated locations could be …

The National Co-ordination Group for Severe Weather Emergencies has met to assess the current weather forecast and flood threats. The group will meet again shortly to review the situation. Met Éireann has issued a series of severe weather warnings for the weekend. Extremely heavy and prolonged rainfall is forecast for West, Mid-West and North West regions on Friday night and all through Saturday. Met Éireann has issued a number of severe weather warnings for the weekend. A RED rainfall warning has been issued for Connacht, Donegal, Clare and Kerry, with accumulations in excess of 70mm expected (valid Friday from 6pm until Sunday at 3am. These levels of rainfall are expected to give rise to local flooding, possibly severe, in some areas and which may block roads and affect transport infrastructure. A level ORANGE rainfall warning is in operation for Cavan, Clare, Cork and Limerick (valid Friday from 9pm until Sunday at 3am), and high winds are expected across the country with a level ORANGE wind warning is in operation for Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo and …

Bus Éireann is to stand down school transport services when Status Red weather alerts are issued nationally or regionally. This is part of a new policy put in place in the interest of pupil safety, and in line with advice issued by State bodies regarding actions required during these rare warnings. This has been communicated to parents of pupils who avail of these services – via email or letter – and the full policy is available on www.buseireann.ie/StatusRed. Bus Éireann operate the School Transport Scheme on behalf of the Department of Education and Skills (DoES), and there has been significant consultation with the department regarding this new policy. Met Éireann recommends that in the event of a Status Red Weather Warning families “take action to protect themselves and/or their properties; this could be by moving their families out of the danger zone temporarily; by staying indoors; or by other specific actions aimed at mitigating the effects of the weather conditions.” …

Clare County Council says there are no significant incidents to report from the county arising from the stormy weather overnight. The Local Co-ordination Group, comprising the principal response agencies in County Clare, met again at Áras Contae and Chláir in Ennis at 9am. A decision was made to discontinue the operation of the Emergency Helpline, which was established on Wednesday evening in response to Met Éireann’s issuing of a Red Alert for strong winds. However, the situation will remain under review throughout the day. The Emergency Helpline received 13 calls between 8pm Wednesday and 8am Thursday. Reports relating to road flooding in Ennistymon, Crusheen, Kilnamona and Dysart, and a felled tree partially blocking a road in Killaloe were recorded and responded to accordingly.

A RED alert weather warning has been issued by Met Éireann.  The wind warning covers the western coastal counties of Clare, Galway, Mayo and Kerry, as well as Wexford and Waterford in the south-east. Severe and damaging gusts of up to 140kmh are expected this evening. The gusts will reach 150kmh in more exposed coastal areas. Met Éireann have also warned of “very high seas” with a significant danger of coastal flooding. The red alert is in place for almost 24 hours – from 5pm today to 3pm tomorrow. The most serious weather alert is red, which means people should take action to protect themselves and/or their property. Met Eireann issued amber alert yesterday for today’s storm – but they upgraded this for some parts of the country before noon today. An amber alert remains in place for the remainder of the country. Meanwhile, motorists have been warned to watch out for falling trees and debris. A Met Éireann spokesperson said, “Southeast …