As Storm Kathleen swept across the nation on Saturday morning, thousands of abodes were left powerless. All train transportation from Heuston station has been brought to a halt due to an obstructive tree teetering near Monasterevin in Co Kildare. While commuter services from Heuston are in operation to and from Kildare, all other journeys remain inactive through Monasterevin until further updates.
Dublin Airport has reported a smooth flow in both departures and arrivals on Saturday morning but encourages flyers to reach out to their respective airlines for real-time updates on individual flights. The Electricity Supply Board (ESB) is currently addressing and rectifying faults as they happen around Cork and Kerry, wherever it is safe.
Amid the stormy climate, an orange wind warning is effective until 2 PM today across Cork, Kerry and Waterford counties, with a similar caution for Mayo and Galway valid until 6 PM. A yellow wind warning is active for the rest of the country till 8 PM.
Met Éireann cautions citizens of harsh travelling conditions, tree collapses, power cuts, coastal floods and excessive wave topping due to the intense and damaging gusts. Storm Kathleen, with its fierce winds nearing 50 kms per hour, has wreaked significant havoc across Munster, with tree collapses triggering power line damage, leaving countless households and establishments powerless this Saturday morning.
Cork seems to be severely impacted by the storm, as large scale power cuts have been caused by falling trees across the city and county. However, even Kerry wasn’t spared, and several communities in Waterford, Tipperary, and Limerick were left powerless.
Among the hardest hit include Whitechurch, just 10 km north of the city of Cork, where approximately 1,600 homes witnessed power cuts, in addition to over 700 properties in North Cork’s Mitchelstown, and numerous outages across the county. In Kerry, over 600 homes and companies in Killarney were rendered powerless, and outages were reported on Valentia Island, Rathmore, Castleisland, Causeway, and in many parts of Limerick including Bruff and Dromcollogher, where over 1,000 houses were left without electricity.
On its course from the southwest, Storm Kathleen has deeply infiltrated Munster, with Clonmel in Co Tipperary bearing the brunt. The storm wreaked havoc by felling trees that took down power lines, leaving over 1,800 households without electricity. A similar situation was witnessed in Lismore, Co Waterford, with approximately 50 residences facing power cuts. The ongoing strong winds are complicating the repairs, which ESB Networks targets to complete by 1800hrs. However, the challenge is trickier considering the escalating wind speed, threatening to uproot more trees as the storm sweeps across the country.
With reported tree falls and debris scattered on the roads, the common advice from the police to drivers is to be extra cautious when undertaking journeys during the storm conditions. Particularly hit are the roads in West Cork city outskirts and Kerry. In another development, Kerry County Council announced the closure of Tralee Town Park and Playground for the whole of Saturday, along with Killarney House & Gardens and Muckross House.
The low-pressure system of Storm Kathleen that’s advancing off the west coast carries intense southerly winds and destructive gusts countrywide. In line with this, the NDFEM crisis response team convened a meeting on Friday to deliberate the prospective impacts of the storm, led by a briefing from Met Éireann.
Keith Leonard, the NDFEM national director, has advised the public to steer clear of coastal areas while the Met Éireann warnings are in effect. He further highlighted that intense winds make driving perilous, especially for vulnerable road users like cyclists, pedestrians, motorcyclists, and high-sided vehicles. Leonard pressed on the importance of staying alert for fallen trees and airborne debris.
Equally, he reminded the public never to handle or get close to damaged or fallen power lines and urged those who come across such to promptly notify ESB Networks on 1800 372 999. For Saturday, the Road Safety Authority (RSA) echoed the need for road users to exercise particular care on the roads.