Update 1800: The latest update on trees down on routes in the region:
Sligo County Council – Alerts to date afternoon of 16th October
14.36 Tree down in Monasteraden Village at Claher Hall
14.50 Tree down between Quarryfield Crossroads and Bunninadden
15.48 Tree down between Old School Carn and Cuilmore Cross, Gurteen
16.22 Fallen tree Monasteraden Village now cleared
16.39 R286 Sligo to Dromahair Road blocked, not passable – Trees down
2 miles Sligo side of Parkes’ castle
16.49 L 1402 Ballindoon to Castlebaldwin road blocked
16.50 Ross Road out of Riverstown blocked at crossroads
16.54 L54041 road Ballyrush blocked
17.01 Fallen tree N16 Manorhamilton Rd blocked at Dunally
17.08 Statement from Sligo County Council:
Sligo County Council will attend to fallen trees at Ballyrush,
Ballindoon to Castlebaldwin Road and Ross, Riverstown, and Dunally
on N16 when it is safe to do so. Roads are likely to remain closed for
several hours
17.09 Tree down at Railway Bridge Strandhill Road Sligo
17.11 Tree blocking road at R 296 Carrownanty, Ballymote
17.17 Tree removed on R296 Carrownanty, will be opened shortly
17.22 R284 Sligo to Geevagh Road blocked at Mount Irwin
17.36 Tree blocking road at L6106 Ranaghan Coolaney
17.40 Tree removed from Strandhill Road, now clear
The Department of Heritage says national parks will remain closed tomorrow.
Schools will remain closed and the ITs in Sligo and Letterkenny are monitoring the situation and state that a decision will be made later.
Update 1630: Official Statement from Department of Education on School Closures:
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
16 October 2017
Schools to remain closed on Tuesday 17 October 2017
The Department of Education has advised that all schools remain closed on Tuesday 17 October 2017.
This latest advice follows a meeting of the Civil Contingencies Group at which all central, local and public sector organisations are represented. The group has taken advice from the Met Office on the prolonged nature and potential severity of the storm and a decision was taken to advise schools to remain closed.
Derek Baker, Permanent Secretary said: “I fully appreciate this decision will impact on the work of the schools and indeed on other businesses and services but the decision has been taken to avoid any potential risk to life for children and young people as well as staff.”
School principals should check their school email accounts for a message from the Permanent Secretary of the Department.
Update 16:30: Storm Ophelia has claimed the lives of three people as it moves across the country.
A man in his 30’s has died in a chainsaw accident while trying to clear a fallen tree in County Tipperary.
A woman in her 50’s was killed when a tree fell on her car in Waterford – while a third person has been killed after a falling tree struck a car in Ravensdale, north of Dundalk County Louth.
The Department of Education has announced that all schools will remain closed tomorrow.
More than 360 thousand homes and businesses are now without power.
Corporate Affairs Manager with ESB Networks is Bernadine Moloney:
Update 1615: Coillte is reiterating that all Coillte Forests are closed to the public following the status red warning Met Éireann issued for ex hurricane Ophelia. The public are again being asked to remain vigilant for fallen and damaged trees . Members of the public should not attempt to remove fallen trees or branches and are asked instead to contact emergency services in the event that access routes are blocked.
Mick Power, National Estate Risk Manager Coillte noted that “We have received reports of people in our forests and cannot stress enough how dangerous it is for anyone to enter a forest with Storm Ophelia moving through the country. Public access to forest is strictly prohibited. We continue to ask the public to be vigilant for fallen trees and report them to emergency services or Coillte”
Latest update from Sligo Co. Co on roads:
Sligo County Council – Alerts afternoon of 16th October
14.50 Tree down between Quarryfield Crossroads and Bunninadden
15.48 Tree down between Old School Carn and Cuilmore Cross, Gurteen
Update: 1600: Two trains are blocked on the Sligo/Dublin line.
It’s because of a tree blown down at Enfield.
The 13:05 Connolly to Sligo train is held up as is the 13:00 train going in the opposite directionn from Sligo to Connolly.
They were among the last trains to operate today as Irish Rail cancelled all services from 2pm.
Irish Rail spokeman Barry Kenny has been giving Ocean FM News the up to date situation on the Sligo/Dublin line:
1500 update:: The North West remains on High Alert for the arrival of Storm Ophelia later.
There are reports of a tree down in Monasteraden in south county Sligo at Clogher Hall and the road is blocked.
There is another tree down on the R199 road which is the Killeshandra road out of Ballinamore. The road is blocked and Gardai in Carrick-on-Shannon are urging people to be aware of this and again to stay indoors until the worst of the storm passes in the next number of hours.
There is another tree down on the Carrick-on-Shannon to Leitrim village road blocking one side of the road at the townland of Ballynamoney.
Reports of another tree down on the Tubbercurry to Gurteen road at Quarryfield.
There are also now power outages mainly in county Leitrim.
According to the ESB there are over a thousand homes without power in the south Leitrim area including Mohill, Leitrim village and the Arigna area on the Roscommon, Sligo border.
Tom Brennan is a Senior Engineer with Sligo County Council – he says staff are on standby:
Donegal and Leitrim County Councils have similar plans in place.
In a statement to Ocean FM News today, Donegal County Council says the Council will close its offices for all non-essential services from 12.45pm today.
Given the nature of the storms and the dangers likely to be encountered, the Council will be deploying crews where it is safe to do so, where requests for assistance are reported.
They have a list of support numbers and we have those on our website.
Irish Water also has incident plans in place and crews on standby to deal with the effects of Storm Ophelia.
Irish Water 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.
It says that Power outages may impact the operation of our 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 our website constantly during this crisis.
12 noon:: Emergency departments in Letterkenny and Sligo are open today.
However, the HSE is warning people to only go in cases of genuine emergencies.
Outpatient appointments and clinics are closed today while community healthcare is working on a more weekend schedule.
People should avoid attending GP surgeries unless in urgent cases and again call ahead.
Frank Morrisson Head of Social Care of the HSE Community Health Organisation in Sligo Leitrim and Donegal has given Ocean FM News the latest update:
Forecaster Joan Blackburn says the North West is used to storms but structural damage will an issue in Donegal, Sligo and Leitrim later:
9am Update: The North West is on alert from some of the worst of the weather later today.
Donegal and Sligo are now in the direct path of the storm as Met Eireann says its shifted slightly.
The worst of the weather is expected here at 3pm this afternoon.
All Schools, Colleges and Childcare facilities will be closed.
Bus Eireann has cancelled all buses until 2pm and the same with Irish Rail but Irish Rail says it hopes to resume services later.
Other local bus, ferry and other transport services are cancelled.
People are advised to contact airports website or the airport directly before going for a flight as Ireland West Airport Knock has advised that airlines are cancelling flights as needed.
Ireland West Airport has confirmed that the following flights are cancelled:
Ryanair
– FR6673 & FR6674 to and from Liverpool
– FR805 & FR806 to and from London Stansted
– FR8142 & FR8143 to and from London Luton
– FR1742 & FR1743 to and from East Midlands
– FR807 & FR808 to and from London Stansted
People going for those flights are advised NOT to go to the airport.
Coillte has closed its forests today to the public.
Some power outages are reported in the south of the country but people are warned that the worst of the weather is forecast for here in the North West counties at about 3pm this afternoon.
Some businesses are closed and again people are advised to check with their employer if in doubt.
The National Coordination Emergency Group is advising people to stay at home.
No unnecessary travel or other outdoor activities should be undertaken.
People should secure any garden furniture, bins and other outdoor equipment before the storm hits.
The Government’s National Emergency Co-Ordination Group is due to meet at 10.30 this morning to discuss the situation.
Its Chairman Seán Hogan is warning people to stay indoors:
8am: The North West is on alert from some of the worst of the weather later today.
Donegal and Sligo are now in the direct path of the storm as Met Eireann says its shifted slightly.
The worst of the weather is expected here at 3pm this afternoon.
All Schools, Colleges and Childcare facilities will be closed.
The National Coordination Emergency Group is advising people to stay at home.
No unnecessary travel or other outdoor activities should be undertaken.
People should secure any garden furniture, bins and other outdoor equipment before the storm hits.
Ophelia is now a tropical storm but Met Éireann Meteorologist Haarm Luijkx says we still need be wary of the force of the wind:
Full report:
The North West counties are expected to get some of the worst of the weather as the eye of Ophelia passes over the country with it expect to hit hit north Connaught and Ulster at its worst around three o’clock this afternoon.
The full resources of the Defence Forces will be made available to the Local Authorities and the Primary Response Agencies on request.
Local Authorities have activated their emergency plans in full after the weather warning status was upgraded to RED last night. Homeless service providers will keep their premises open throughout the day.
The red alert is the highest possible alert forecasting gale force winds, heavy rain and high seas posing a serious flooding risk.
Through a statement released through An Garda Siochana last night the Authorities are warning that the storm has the potential to cause ‘risk to lives’
Last night the Department of Education and Skills announced that all schools, colleges and other educational institutions would close today.
Communities have been preparing for the storm with farmers and fishermen securing property.
The North West counties are vulnerable due to the coastline and people are warned to only travel if necessary, stay away from the coast and from areas like the Glenveagh National Park where the risk of falling trees is high.
Outpatient appointments at hospitals have been cancelled and the HSE says only emergency procedures will go ahead.
Last night Bus Eireann confirmed all of its services are cancelled until 2pm today and then it will review the situation. Irish Rail followed suit and all services are also cancelled until at least 2pm.
Other local bus services have also been cancelled including the Local Link service and the Dial-a-Bus service in Sligo.
The ESB says there will be power outages and many flocked to their local super markets yesterday to stock up on candles and torches.
Many flights out of Ireland West Airport Knock have been cancelled today and people are advised to check the latest flight information online before going to the airport.
Ryanair, Aer Lingus and all airlines are advising passengers to check before travelling to any airport today.
The weather warning remains in place until 11pm tonight but progress of the storm is being monitored closely by Met Eireann and updates will be issued throughout the day.
The Coastguard is warning people to stay away from coastal paths, walks and areas in general.
In a statement to Ocean FM News, Sligo County Council says ‘Motorists and other road users are asked to be vigilant due to the danger of falling trees and overhead wires and localised flooding due to the heavy rain.
Council meetings in county Sligo have also been cancelled for today.
The Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection offices are also closed today.
The National Emergency Coordination Group will convene again this morning at 10.30am.
