Tag Archives: Hurricane Ophelia

  Irish Water has incident plans in place and crews on standby to deal with the effects of Hurricane Ophelia. The national water utility recognises that the predicted conditions are likely to result in power outages at critical water and wastewater installations which could compromise service delivery. Heavy rainfall may also increase the risk of flooding. Power outages may impact the operation of its water treatment plants, which would compromise the safety of drinking water. Where risk arises, working with the HSE, Irish Water will impose precautionary Boil Water Notices as necessary. Irish Water is collating information on outages and other issues and will be updating its website constantly during this emergency. The national utility envisage that crews will be unlikely to be able to respond to breakdowns in plants until it is safe to do so and this may lead to a loss of service for a period. However, Irish Water and local authorities crews will respond as quickly …

  Clare County Council has established an emergency helpline (1890-252943) to deal with requests for assistance from the public in relation to fallen trees, blocked roads, flooding and other non-life threatening incidences. This helpline has been established in response to the ongoing threat of severe weather affecting Clare during Monday as a result of Hurricane Ophelia. Members of the public with water services queries should contact the Irish Water helpline number on 1850 278 278. Clare’s principal emergency response agencies are advising members of the public and services providers to avoid any non-urgent travel due to the Red Alert weather warning in place. The council, An Garda Síochána and the HSE have discussed the necessary plans for responding to the Status Red weather warning. Meanwhile, the council has confirmed that all local authority public buildings and facilities, including Áras Contae an Chláir, Area Offices, Civic Amenity sites, leisure facilities, library branches and visitor attractions, closed at 11.00 am. The local …

Clare County Council has closed a number of facilities including the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience due to severe weather conditions expected during Hurricane Ophelia. Limited essential services will be provided by the council during Monday. A number of local authority facilities will remain closed during the day. These include the Central Waste Management Facility, Ballyduffbeg, Ennis, Lisdeen, Scariff and Shannon Recycling Centres; Active Kilrush Amenity Park, Active Ennis Leisure Centre, Active Ennis John O’Sullivan Park, Lees Road, all Clare County Library branches, Clare Museum, Loop Head Lighthouse and the Clare Arts Office.

Shannon Airport will remain open throughout Monday, despite the potential impact of Hurricane Ophelia. A Shannon Airport spokeswoman stressed the safety of passengers and staff is its first priority. The spokesperson asked passengers to contact their airline with regard to updates on schedule changes for Monday. However, at this point the airport is aware of the following flight cancellations: Aer Lingus Regional EI3675/3672 from and to Edinburgh and EI 3639/3638 from and to Birmingham, and London/Heathrow EI381 and EI384 with Aer Lingus. Delta flight DL406 from NY JFK has been diverted to Dublin Airport. “Airlines will continue to advise passengers of schedule changes and we advise intending passengers to check the status of their flight with their airline before travelling to the airport tomorrow.  Shannon Airport will continue monitoring the situation throughout the day and live flight information is available on www.shannonairport.ie or on the Shannon Airport App. “Shannon Airport will post airport operational updates tomorrow on its social media channels …

  The Clare Champion office will remain closed on Monday in the wake of safety advice issued for Hurricane Ophelia. This decision was taken on Sunday night for safety reasons, following a more severe weather warning issued by Met Eireann. All editorial copy can still be forwarded to editor@clarechampion.ie while all advertising should be emailed to sales@clarechampion.ie The advertising deadline has been extended to facilitate the receipt of all advertising up to this Tuesday at 5pm. Management has urged people to follow all safety advice issued by Clare County Council, the HSE and emergency services.

  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 Mid-West HSE Community Healthcare Department has decided to cancel all non essential community healthcare services scheduled for Monday due to Hurricane Ophelia. In a statement issued on Monday morning, the health authority confirmed all non emergency healthcare will not operate  on Monday and the majority of its local buildings are closed. All residential and emergency services will operate as normal and to the best of the authority’s capability in the expected storm force conditions.   Staff colleagues at the UL Hospitals’ Group have restricted all services to emergency with ED and Local Injury Units operating.  Ambulance services are as normal for emergency work. The group  has cancelled all outpatient appointments, day surgery and elective procedures in University Hospital Limerick, University Maternity Hospital Limerick, Nenagh Hospital, Ennis Hospital, Croom Orthopaedic Hospital and St John’s Hospital on Monday. Patients are advised not to travel to the hospitals unless absolutely necessary. All patients whose appointments have been cancelled will be contacted to …

  Clare’s principal emergency response agencies are advising schools to close and members of the public and services providers to avoid any non-urgent travel during Monday due to the Red Alert weather warning in place. The appeal has been issued following a meeting of the Inter Agency Co-ordination group in Ennis on Sunday morning. Clare County Council, An Garda Síochána and the HSE have discussed the necessary plans for responding to the Status Red weather warning.   The response is based on learning from previous adverse weather events. The agencies have expressed particular concern that the public would take every precaution to avoid unnecessary travel and take heed of ongoing updates from Met Éireann and Government agencies.  Hurricane Ophelia is expected to transition to a post tropical storm as it approaches Ireland on Monday bringing severe winds and stormy conditions. Mean wind speeds in excess of 80 km/h and gusts in excess of 130km/h are expected, potentially causing structural damage …