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THE SEVERE WEATHER has hit areas of Wexford particularly badly, according to the latest briefing from the National Emergency Coordination Centre
Responding to questions about the knock-on effect of the severe weather, a HSE spokesperson said that Wexford was one of the worst affected areas by the snow.
What’s caused a real difficulty is cars that were abandoned by people who drove out in the worst of the weather, he said.
“We’ve had difficulties around the ambulance base in Wexford town in that it couldn’t be cleared by snow ploughs.”
He said that this was because “cars who went out in the worst of the weather broke down and have blocked the route and blocked access for the ploughs to get there and clear it”.
This was why earlier in the week when people were asked to stay off roads and not cause obstructions, he added.
The snowploughs in Wexford couldn’t gain access to clear the ambulance service, the base and the hospital because of this.
Wexford is a difficult area at this time.
He said they’ve also experienced “serious difficulty” in trying to access patients who have made 999 and 112 calls because of the depth of the snow in some places.
Wexford County Council said that “depths of 10-15cms were reported in Wexford, Gorey and Enniscorthy areas, 5-10cms in the New Ross area”, with “significantly more snow in Bunclody area with drifting leading to more than a metre of snow in places”.
don lavery / Twitter#StormEmma Snowdrift at the rear of our house in Kilmuckridge, Co Wexford. Our car is just to the left. About 4 feet in places.
— Don Lavery (@donlav) March 2, 2018
Used my Russian entrenching tool to clear snow and ice from the side door so we can get out. pic.twitter.com/e4TD1kXwE4
Although snow ploughs are still clearing roads, Wexford County Council advises people not to travel, as all routes currently extremely hazardous.
Slips, trips and falls
The HSE are expecting a busy period over the next few days as snow melts and makes pathways and roads slippery.
They’re expecting more “slips, trips and falls” and as a result of that coupled with people who have held off attending Emergency Departments, they’re expecting a spike in demand as roads begin to clear again.
In the coming days as a result of falls, and where people can’t access HSE facilities, there will be serious move of people to emergency departments.
The Defence Forces are helping paramedics, hospital staff and other emergency services travel along dangerous roads.
ESB Networks / TwitterThank you @defenceforces for helping us to restore homes, farms and businesses who have been affected by #StormEmma . #StaySafe pic.twitter.com/gyXFLzsvHI
— ESB Networks (@ESBNetworks) March 2, 2018
The Wexford County Council said that there had been “some significant outages today”, and that the county’s water network has developed “a number of water bursts”.
It must be emphasised that conditions are and will remain very difficult and dangerous over the coming days and the public are advised not to travel unless absolutely necessary.
The local authority advised that people continue to exercise “high levels of caution for their own safety” in the extreme cold, accumulated snow and icy conditions.
“The presence of large snow drifts, particularly on local roads is going to pose particular problems and individual houses may be inaccessible for some time.”
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See, this is why they say don’t make don’t make unnecessary journeys. This is why they say stay at home. The owners of those abondened cars should be fined if they can’t prove their journey was vital and necessary. Dublin emergency services reported earlier that people who had to be rescued were bringing their kids out to see the snow.
@Dermot Lane: Agreed. There needs to be some legislation put in place if people are too selfish and downright ignorant not to know that they are putting other people in danger by their own stupid actions. I’m by no means in favour of the nanny state but in a state of emergency if it means coercing people to behave in a sensible manner then im for some sort of forceful legislation. We obviously cant rely on common sense
@Ciarān: as someone said, the problem with common sense is that it’s not very common.
@Dermot Lane: its a free country! Let’s keep it like that. How difficult can it be to move cars? Have you seen a fire truck?
Why did they allow and emergency service to get into that state of disuse? I don’t believe all the facts of this are out yet.
Staying in because it snowed is a complete irrational over reaction. Got out clear the snow from ambulance station… Where’s all these army guys? 50 of them reported ten were sweeping paths on the news yesterday photo op.
@Aidan Conway: don’t be silly.
@Aidan Conway: why don’t you go get your car stuck in a foot of snow and see how easy it is to move.
@Aidan Conway:
Try and imagine that you were the one having the heart attack. Would it be ok by you to have to wait until 50 Army men dig you out.
Russian entrenching tool??? Does he mean a shovel?
@Aidan Ryan: yes, unfortunately it’s not as exciting as it sounds! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/MPL-50
@Aidan Ryan: so he used a tiny shovel to clear loads of snow. Genius. I’ve been living in Norway for the last 16 yrs and to see the hysteria and attention seeking behaviour of some people on these articles is embarrassing.
@David OfBrien: maybe you’d be happier visiting Norwegian nesw sites then. Tosser.
Text alerts issued from Wexford Co Co via http://www.mapalerter.com/wexford
Need to get plant hire company’s in with heavy construction loaders. Too deep to plough that.
I’m sure they’re already on the case!
@Tom: They’re busy pulling down shopping centres sure.
@Tom: they need to bring in car crushers for the abondened cars. People were told not to go out, not to drive.
@Dermot Lane: Freedom still exists doesn’t it or are the FFFG Orders forbidding us from leaving our own homes now ?
@eastsmer: yeah freedom to block emergency services still exists as does freedom to be stupid, as you have just demonstrated.
@eastsmer: get a fing life
@Justin McNulty: A ‘fing’ life ?
What you are proposing here is that we curtail basic freedom of movement, the FG is very strong with this as usual, maybe the roll out of the forced ID card is too slow ?
If people chose to ignore weather then that is their own issue not something for you or anyone else to insist that their freedom of movement be curtailed.
@eastsmer: but what if their ignoring weather warnings endanger others? Does your idea of personal personal freedom extend to drunk driving or driving without insurance, both of which are government measures that could curtail freedom of movement, as you define it?
@Dermot Lane: It’s like this Dermot – shops in Dublin were broken in to by a JCB and some thieves, then commenters on here decide to do the following – Bring them up to the mountains and leave them there, blame Paul Murphy, shoot them etc. etc.
A snow blizzard does this to people ?
I guess a lot of people are snowbound but I did not hear any curfew – did you ?
If drivers or any people can’t handle the weather then it is they that need to change and that change does not happen by implementing restrictions on personal freedom.
I know that the Ambulance services have tow trucks and Army vehicles at their disposal so at the end of the day roads could be cleared.
The deficiencies which have been shown in the ‘Health’ services are glaring.
Staff are staying in basic on site accommodation on sites in order to assist the public.
There is another article ’30 hours on a trolley in Kerry General’
That is the major problem in the Health Service – not some broken down cars that could be moved if the will was there.
@Dermot Lane: TOLD? Who the f.. Has the right to tell others what to do?
Can’t be much use for these ambulances seeing as they got snowed in? No one watching them? No one using them.
What’s the layoutt here? Did people really park in front of ambulance station…… Let’s see the photis
@Tom: when it warms up and the rain and wind hits. It’ll disappear pretty fast. It’s all the excess water you gotta worry about now
@eastsmer:
The whole point of ringing 999 is that help is need Fast. People having heart attacks and women going into Labour need to get to a hospital without delay. If people are stupid enough to go out and have to abandon their cars for no good reason that is what I would classify as reckless endangerment of themselves and others.
Aren’t there places in the States where people are fined for stupidity (basically) in extreme weather conditions?
@Barbara Edwards: most drivers in Ireland would be fined for stupidity at some point. Are they too thick to move a few cars? What kind of emergency services have we got? How did a drift firm were they not even looking outside? If it was in use how did it get into that state?
Go around the abandoned cars? How do they know they were abandoned? Were they parked before the snow fell? Typical over reaction based on limited information. Now all the do goddess want to bring back hanging.
Few f.. G cars go around!
They should have just ploughed those cars out of the way, selfish idiots.
I seen 5 abandoned cars on my walk around the town tonight.
The best one on George’s street n these lads on their way to McGees pub a stones throw away
@Tommy: what of it? What makes them a bond one and not badly parked? A bit of snow changes everything! Are they blocking the road? If so which road? Let’s see the photo
@Tommy: saw a guy yesterday on George St and Selskar abandon his jeep same on Lower John Street I was around taking photos at 7am 2-3-2018
Great cover photo of snow drifts in Wexford Rathmore Co Kildare
Put parking and road traffic offences on the #abandonedCars causing obstruction
There should be penalty points (6-9) for the owners of any abandoned cars. Their stupidity is causing a hinderence to vital services.
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