The 130kmh winds on Sunday forced closure of roads with fallen trees and debrisESB crews continue to work to restore power to homes – 53,000 homes were without power on Sunday afternoon and this has been reduced to 16,000 on Monday morning
Number of flights have been cancelled at Dublin Airport on Monday as a result of yesterday’s disruption
Heather Humphreys confirms the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme is available to provide support to those affected by Storm Ashley
Galway and Mayo bore the worst of the first named storm of the autumn, though the damage wasn’t as severe as initially feared with Galway and Cork avoiding major storm surge-related flooding.
At the peak of the storm, ESB Networks were dealing with more than 53,000 properties that had lost power.
As of 8.30pm on Sunday, this number had reduced to 29,000.
And now there are currently approximately 16,000 customers without supply this morning, ESB Networks spokesperson confirmed.
Most affected areas include Galway, Mayo and Dingle in Kerry.
“There are some other pockets around the country and crews are mobilising at present in impacted areas to recommence restoration work,” a spokesperson added.
Such was the scale of the damage that thousands of properties will not have power restored before today.
A number of flights have been cancelled at Dublin Airport on Monday as a result of yesterday’s disruption, a DAA spokesperson said.
There are also some “knock-on delays” expected at the airport today.
“As a result of Sunday’s disruption at airports across Ireland, the UK and Europe, some knock-on delays today are inevitable as several airlines have aircraft out of position,” they added.
Passengers are advised to check the updates of their flights directly with the airlines.The DAA confirmed 81 flights were cancelled on Sunday, with 39 go-arounds performed and 34 aircraft opted to divert to other airports.
Councils responded to more than 100 reports of fallen trees along roads, primarily in Donegal as well as Munster and Connacht counties.
Social Protection Heather Humphreys confirmed that the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme is available to provide support to those living in properties directly affected by Storm Ashley.
The Humanitarian Assistance Scheme prevents hardship by providing income-tested financial support to people whose homes are damaged from severe weather events and who are unable to meet costs for essential needs, household items and structural repair.
“I’m very conscious of the serious disruption that severe weather is causing for individuals and families affected by Storm Ashley,” she said.
“I recently secured a further €3 million in funding for the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme administered by my department.
“In addition, in recognition of the supports needed I have recently increased the income limits for the scheme from €30,000 to €50,000 for a single person, €50,000 to €90,000 for a couple and €10,000 to €15,000 per dependent child.
“If any homeowner affected by severe weather needs to access these supports, they can contact the Community Welfare Service by phoning 0818 60 70 80.”
The bulk of the outages were caused by damage inflicted by fallen trees and flying debris as Storm Ashley strengthened as it approached the Irish coast and then battered southern and western counties.
The worst of the power outages were in Galway.
Orange and amber alerts in place as Storm Ashley sweeps across Ireland
Multiple faults were also reported in Cork despite the fact the county was not subject to the Status Orange alert.
The worst of the outages in Cork was in Fermoy where almost 2,000 homes and businesses lost power from lunchtime yesterday.
Significant outages were also reported in Donegal, Kerry and Limerick.
Storm Ashley peaked in the late afternoon with Galway, Clare, Galway, Mayo, Leitrim and Donegal bearing the brunt of the Atlantic storm.
Met Éireann warned that wind gusts were likely to reach 130kmh in exposed coastal areas.
Seven counties – Kerry, Clare, Galway, Mayo, Sligo, Leitrim and Donegal – were under a Status Orange weather alert from 10am until 8pm.
A Status Yellow nationwide wind warning expired last night.
However, hundreds were without power in parts of Munster from early yesterday morning before the storm had even reached its peak over Ireland.
The storm also hit travel connections with a number of flights cancelled, delayed or diverted at Irish airports.
A Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) spokesperson confirmed that around 60 flights due to depart/land at Dublin Airport were cancelled.
A total of 27 incoming aircraft performed go-arounds with 28 opting to divert to other airports.
“Sunday’s disruption – both at Dublin Airport and other airports – could mean some aircraft and crews are out of place, which could impact on airlines’ Monday schedules,” they said.
A car parked at the Co Clare coast at Doolin survives the strong winds and flying debris. Photo: Crispin Rodwell
Because of the weather alert, a number of major attractions and sporting events across Ireland closed for public safety reasons.
Storm Ashley played havoc with the GAA calendar as six county club finals were postponed. Senior finals in Clare, Fermanagh, Longford, Tyrone and Wicklow were amongst those rescheduled.
Both gardaí and Road Safety Authority (RSA) urged people to travel with care – and only to undertake journeys in areas covered by the Status Orange alert if it was absolutely necessary to do so.
Water Safety Ireland urged people not to approach exposed coastal areas, given the threat posed by the high winds and strong seas.
People were also warned that the heavy rainfall could turn many small streams into raging torrents and to stay away from streams, rivers and lakes.
Galway County Council closed a number of low lying coastal roads with sandbags and flood defence measures being deployed. Almost 20,000 sandbags were available while special flood protection booms were also deployed.
The National Directorate for Fire & Emergency Management (NDFEM) had advised the public to stay away from coastal areas throughout the day.
The warning followed a meeting on Saturday morning between the NDFEM, Met Éireann and various other stakeholders to review updates in relation to the current weather warnings in place for Storm Ashley.
