'We don't know how forceful it will be': Cork gets ready for Storm Eunice to hit

A BUSY night is expected across Cork tonight, as Storm Eunice barrells over the county bringing sleet, heavy rain, and gusts of up to 130 km/h.

A red weather warning was put in place for the county from 3am tomorrow morning and is expected to be lowered to status orange by 8am and to status yellow by 11am.

Cork County Council placed crews on standby today, deploying sandbags and pumps in areas known to be affected by coastal flood events.

One particular area of concern is Bantry, which was hit with severe flooding during Storm Barra in December.

Speaking with The Echo, local Councillor Danny Collins said that the town was expecting to see the worst of the storm over at about 5am.

“There is a natural fear in the area because we don’t know how forceful it will be,” Mr Collins said.

“For the past two or three years we’ve been hit very badly. Over 21 businesses were affected by Storm Barra. Any time a warning comes like this we worry.” 

Mr Collins wished to thank local Area Engineer Ruth O’Brien and her team for their preparations.

“They were out all day giving sandbags to all the local businesses and getting the pumps ready. No doubt they’ll be on call for the next 24 hours."

No flooding is expected in Cork City, but the City Council will have crews on the ground after the red warning has lifted to deal with any damage.

The Cork Business Association is hopeful that the storm would over the city without causing damage. “We are optimistic that, hopefully, the storm will without too much obstruction to trade,” said association president Eoin O’Sullivan.

Meanwhile, community gardaí are patrolling the city tonight to ensure homeless people have shelter ahead of the storm and emergency accommodation is secured by Cork City Council and Cork Simon.

Closures

Due to the extreme nature of the storm, the Department of Education has advised Cork schools not to open tomorrow.

Cork City Council public services - such as offices, parks, civic amenity sites and libraries - will not open until the later time of 10am tomorrow, while Cork County Council’s offices and civic amenity sites will not open until 12:30pm.

The multi-storey car parks at Paul St and North Main Street will also stay closed until 10am.

The HSE also warned of some possible disruptions to services. The South/South West Hospital Group had not advised the cancellation of any elective inpatient or outpatient appointments but delays are expected.

“Although the red weather warning for the area is expected to have ed after 8am, we expect that of the public will be delayed in reaching appointments,” management said.

“We thank the public in advance for their patience as there will inevitably be knock-on delays throughout the day.” 

All scheduled Covid-19 vaccination and testing centres will be closed until the red warning has ed.

The National Ambulance Service added that emergency calls may be hindered by road conditions but that personnel will do their utmost to reach those in need.

The public is asked to keep in with neighbours, especially those living alone, and to rope off any damaged areas once it is safe to do so.

Issues such as fallen trees, flooding, and road damage should be reported to the relevant council office, while disruption to power supply or fallen wires can be reported to ESB Networks.

The storm is due to over Ireland by tomorrow afternoon with tomorrow night's forecast set to be calmer.