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Thousands still without power as Storm Bert hits the country

The worst impacted areas include Donegal, Sligo, Mayo, Galway, Cavan, Monaghan, Kerry and Cork.

LAST UPDATE | 23 Nov 2024

POWER OUTAGES CONTINUE across the country as a number of counties continue to struggle with severe flooding as Storm Bert passes over Ireland.

As of 7pm this evening, 11,000 premises are without power.

The worst impacted areas include Donegal, Sligo, Mayo, Galway, Cavan, Monaghan, Kerry and Cork.

Earlier, 60,000 homes and businesses were without power. ESB crews are working to restore power to the remaining affected premises.

The latest updates, including estimated restoration times, are available on PowerCheck.ie. A spokesperson for the ESB said that while crews will work late into the evening to try and restore power to as many homes and businesses as possible, it is anticipated that a number of customers will remain without power overnight.

The ESB said that efforts are being made in areas of Connemara and West Mayo where some customers remain without supply due to extensive damage from the heavy snow and ice in the early hours of Thursday morning. 

“With Met Éireann forecasting Storm Bert to dominate our weather through the weekend, further power outages may occur tonight and through Sunday,” the spokesperson said.

“ESB Networks teams are closely monitoring the storm impact on power supplies and all available resources remain available to respond when and where it’s safe to do so.”

If anyone comes across fallen electricity wires, do not touch them – EBS has warned they are “live and extremely dangerous”. Instead, people have been asked to report the damaged wires by calling 1800 372 999.

A number of weather warnings have been issued and further power outages are expected over the weekend.  

Flooding

Severe flooding has occurred in a number of counties, including Cork, Galway, Donegal and Kerry.

The Road Safety Authority (RSA) has advised motorists to take extra care and avoid unnecessary travel.

A number of roads are closed and people should check with their relevant local authority for the latest updates.

Killybegs in county Donegal is one of the areas worst affected by flooding.

Weather warnings 

Status Yellow wind warning for Cork, Kerry, Waterford, Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford and Wicklow kicked in at 5pm today and will remain in place until 2am tomorrow.

Fallen trees, debris and difficult travelling conditions are expected.

Met Éireann has advised that more weather warnings could be issued, or current ones upgraded, in the coming hours. 

Cork County Council has advised road users that the conditions remain poor after Status Red rainfall hit the county overnight. Storm Bert continues to have an effect with localised flooding, debris on roads and fallen trees across the county, it said.

Tomorrow’s warnings

A Status Yellow wind warning for Leitrim, Mayo and Sligo will be in place from 8am tomorrow until 2am on Monday.

A Status Yellow wind warning for Donegal will be in effect from 8am tomorrow until 8am on Monday.

A Status Yellow wind warning for Clare, Kerry, Galway will be in place from 8am to 7pm tomorrow.

Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Tyrone and Derry will be affected by a Status Yellow wind warning from 11am until 6pm tomorrow.

Bus Éireann has cancelled some services in western parts of the country, while advising all travellers to plan journeys in advance and expect delays. 

A number of train services are also experiencing delays. The latest updates can be read here

Transport for Ireland has advised people to check the status of specific transport operators before setting off. 

“Please check with your transport operator before travelling as there may be delays or curtailments due to adverse weather conditions. Some services will be travelling at reduced speeds in the interests of safety,” TFI said in a statement. 

The National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management (NDFEM) said it will continue to liaise with Met Éireann and monitor the situation, while local authority Severe Weather Assessment Teams will monitor conditions locally and use emergency response teams as required. 

‘Critical concerns’

Met Éireann meteorologist Andrew Doran-Sherlock said the organisation is closely monitoring the situation and will upgrade warnings or issue new alerts as needed. 

He said there is a strong likelihood of Status Orange wind warnings in western and northwestern counties.

The impacts from Storm Bert will continue over the weekend and potentially through early next week as well.

Dr Jennifer Keenahan, Associate Professor of Civil Engineering at University College Dublin, warned that the storm’s timing is concerning because it will bring heavy rainfall onto already saturated ground.

She added that from a structural engineering perspective, Storm Bert presents several “critical concerns for our bridge infrastructure” and that the combination of heavy rainfall and strong winds creates multiple challenges.

“The saturated ground conditions significantly increase the risk of scour around bridge foundations, where fast-moving water can erode the supporting soil beneath bridge piers,” Keenaghan said.

“This is particularly worrisome when coupled with the intense rainfall predicted for this evening.

“The storm surge and wave action will create both lateral and vertical forces on bridge structures and these forces can be especially problematic as they can generate upward pressures on bridge decks.”

With reporting by Diarmuid Pepper

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    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Pharmyco
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    Dec 23rd 2013, 8:51 AM

    Imagine the furore if it was Ryanair.

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    Mute Alan Scott
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    Dec 23rd 2013, 9:55 AM

    Pilots p45 would be in the post if it were Ryanair

    51
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    Mute Crocodylus Pontifex
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    Dec 23rd 2013, 10:08 AM

    And some major questions to answer regarding why they are flying 747s in Jo’Burg

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    Mute DurkaDurkaDurka
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    Dec 23rd 2013, 10:35 AM

    Why wouldn’t they? It says he took the wrong runway in error.

    22
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    Mute DurkaDurkaDurka
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    Dec 23rd 2013, 10:41 AM

    *taxiway

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    Mute James Spencer
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    Dec 23rd 2013, 1:00 PM

    Ha ha! Very clever… Although too clever it appears for some…

    Major questions if RYANAIR were flying 747s in Jo’burg….

    Re-read red thumbers!

    29
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    Mute Red Rooster
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    Dec 23rd 2013, 2:09 PM

    It reminds me of the scene from the spoof movie Airplane.

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    Mute Hippocrateeth
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    Dec 23rd 2013, 5:29 PM

    I still don’t get it, would somebody mind explaining the joke to me? I don’t see what would be so funny about Ryanair flying 747s in Johannesburg.

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    Mute Andrew McCarthy
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    Dec 23rd 2013, 9:02 AM

    Original source for the photo seems to be this tweet. I’d much rather she got the credit than Sky News. https://twitter.com/HarrietTolputt/status/414884728605405184

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    Mute Carcu Sidub
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    Dec 23rd 2013, 9:04 AM

    Take the one on the left.
    Right, the left.
    Yes left
    Right turning left.
    No left
    I am turning left.
    No you are turning right
    No I am turning left.
    No you are turning right
    Oh you mean your left
    Right
    What
    Bang.

    140
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    Mute Andrea McElroy
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    Dec 23rd 2013, 9:43 AM

    all of the above while using opposite hand gestures!

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    Mute Dave O'Reilly
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    Dec 23rd 2013, 8:58 PM

    Being signed by the Mandela signer!

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    Mute james cullen
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    Dec 23rd 2013, 9:14 AM

    Was it a woman pilot :)

    66
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    Mute Hugh Chaloner
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    Dec 23rd 2013, 9:18 AM

    The pilot was a Liverpool supporter.

    136
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    Mute Chewey Bacca
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    Dec 23rd 2013, 9:22 AM

    A woman Liverpool supporter pilot guided in by a male man utd table tennis bat person controlled by a transgendered Arsenal fan in the tower.

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    Mute Joseph Siddall
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    Dec 23rd 2013, 9:22 AM

    Aircraft obviously had too little fuel/too much fuel/inexperienced pilot/too old a pilot/tired pilot/shoddy maintenance record/radar not working………… Oh, wait, it was a BA aircraft not Ryanair, so it’s just a silly little mistake. Could happen to anyone, hardly worth a comment.

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    Mute rotund jocularity
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    Dec 23rd 2013, 8:54 AM

    Collides into?

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    Mute Matt
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    Dec 23rd 2013, 10:10 AM

    It clipped the building. The headline is a bit dramatic.

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    Mute gerbreen
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    Dec 23rd 2013, 10:39 AM

    From the pic it looks like they ripped the first 20 feet off the front of the building. A destructive clip. Assume a pilot visual is fairly limited in that situation.

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    Mute Maria Hickey-Fagan
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    Dec 23rd 2013, 12:22 PM

    Grammar alert! Things collide with each other, not into each other.

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    Mute Joe McDermott
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    Dec 23rd 2013, 1:07 PM

    It looks like more than clip from the pic.

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    Mute Tom Smith
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    Dec 23rd 2013, 10:12 AM

    Looks like I picked the wrong day to quit amphetamines.

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    Mute Philip Kenna
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    Dec 23rd 2013, 9:56 AM

    No claims bonus, gone!

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    Mute Jonathan Oconnell
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    Dec 23rd 2013, 9:21 AM

    Imagine the phone call to the F B D claimes dept, and find out only the left wing was covered , because you didn’t pay the excess.

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    Mute John
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    Dec 23rd 2013, 9:18 AM

    Took a wrong taxiway. Not runway..

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    Mute Giuseppe
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    Dec 23rd 2013, 9:57 AM

    No one hurt is the important thing. The pilot and ground handler will be lucky to keep there jobs.
    BA gonna get some bill from the airport and aviation authority there…. New wing won’t be cheap either…

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    Mute John
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    Dec 23rd 2013, 9:20 AM

    Collides into building, it says it in the heading

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    Mute david garland
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    Dec 23rd 2013, 12:55 PM

    Luckily the pilot didn’t make a wrong turn and enter a runway where a plane was landing or taking off

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    Mute Rodger 5
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    Dec 23rd 2013, 9:25 AM

    Now that’s what I’d call a wedgie.

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    Mute Don Pleas
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    Dec 23rd 2013, 10:47 AM

    Wait for the world traveler to appear, only dying to shorten Johannesburg to Jo- blah. Wow you must have been there before??? You are an inspiration to us all.

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    Mute Tom Harpur
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    Dec 23rd 2013, 11:02 AM

    Guess the pilot was on the mobile or texting when this happened

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    Mute Carcu Sidub
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    Dec 23rd 2013, 11:58 AM

    Neither was using the iPhone Maps.

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    Mute Declan
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    Dec 23rd 2013, 1:17 PM

    Simple workaround here people. Position parking sensors on the wing tips. With the amount of advance avionics technology these days I’m surprised it’s not done yet. By the way…I bags patient pending on this!

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    Mute Loop De Loop
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    Dec 23rd 2013, 11:34 AM

    Holy sh1t ! Lucky to get away with that, could have ended a whole lot worse.

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    Mute sean t bugger
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    Dec 23rd 2013, 12:52 PM

    Wondering what protection a pilot has? Is there cover or do you get sacked right out

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    Mute Lt. Shiny Sides
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    Dec 23rd 2013, 4:21 PM

    Generally the pilots are told which taxiway to take, so it’s not really their fault

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    Mute sean t bugger
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    Dec 23rd 2013, 9:35 PM

    Well let’s say pilot error. Is airline gonna sake him over the million pounds of damage?

    2
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