Clean-up begins after Storm Bert batters country, causing widespread damage
Counties in the west were hardest hit as the storm tore through the country, causing some of the worst flooding in years
Storm Bert battered the country yesterday, causing millions of euro worth of damage from flooding while tens of thousands of homes and businesses were left without power.
The big clean-up began yesterday after some of the worst flooding in years hit parts of the west. Counties along the western seaboard were hardest hit, although other areas also experienced gale-force winds as the storm crossed the country.
In Donegal, there were scenes reminiscent of the recent flooding in parts of Spain, when flood waters over a metre deep surged through a street in the centre of Killybegs.
A Status Red warning - the highest level of alert - had been issued for Cork and Galway as the second named storm of the winter brought torrential rain and winds gusting up to 110kph.
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A Status Yellow weather warning for much of Ireland remains in place through the weekend after Met Éireann extended the alerts until 8am tomorrow morning in some counties.
The Electricity Supply Board (ESB) said high winds had caused power outages for 60,000 customers at the height of the storm. At midday yesterday, more than 34,000 homes and businesses throughout the country were still without power. ESB crews worked through the day yesterday to restore power to the affected premises, although further power outages are expected over the weekend.
Scores of roads across the country were rendered impassable and had to be closed because of the combination of flooding and fallen trees.
The railway line between Dublin and Belfast was closed for some hours because of flood damage to infrastructure but it reopened later.
County Donegal was on the receiving end of the storm with major flooding, as the coastal town of Killybegs was the worst hit. A local councillor claimed that a tree had fallen and blocked a river, causing water to flow directly into the path of the town.
A video on social media showed floodwaters almost covering a car gushing down Bridge Street at the height of the storm. There was severe flood damage caused to businesses and homes in the area and yesterday local fire services and Donegal County Council were involved in pumping water from buildings.
Independent Councillor Niamh Kennedy said a range of businesses had been flooded, including two hairdressers, an optician, a laundrette, an estate agent's office, and the social welfare office. She said residential homes were also affected and cars were damaged.
"The water is gone from the street now but the level in the river is still high”, she said.
Local Sinn Fein TD Pearse Doherty said the area had suffered flooding before and called for flood prevention measures to be put in place. He said: “Not for the first time, Killybegs has experienced terrible flooding. Other areas of Donegal Town and the Frosses also experienced flooding last night. The council and the services are currently on the scene to prevent further flooding.”
At one stage, there were 23,000 people without power in the county following gale-force winds in the early hours of the morning.
In counties Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Galway and Mayo, many rivers broke their banks, flooding dozens of roads.
There was major flooding in Abbeyfeale, Co Limerick after the River Feale burst its banks, causing flood damage to a number of properties in the town. Two of the area's most popular sporting grounds, Fr Caseys GAA and Abbeyfeale Utd soccer pitch, were transformed into lakes yesterday with only the fencing around the playing area visible above water.
In Galway, drivers were advised to avoid a road in north Connemara following a landslide during Storm Bert. A section of the R336 from Maam to Leenane at Coilleach Bheag was left impassable after soil and vegetation slid onto the road. The incident happened a short distance outside Leenane, where a section of the N59 on the west of the village was flooded.
Galway County Council crews were dealing with extensive flooding in Clifden, where a number of roads in the Connemara town were flooded. Some houses in the Inverin area of south Connemara whose electricity supply was disrupted during a snowstorm earlier this week remain without power.
A number of roads throughout Co Galway remained flooded yesterday, with motorists advised to take caution in areas such as Claregalway, Mountain North near Athenry, and Belclare and Sylaun near Tuam.
Counties in the south west were also badly affected by flooding with the village of Béal Átha an Ghaorthaidh heavily flooded and impassable to cars for a time.
In Kerry, Listowel town centre was flooded as the river Feale breached its banks.
In some parts of Cork, businesses and homes were damaged for the second time in little more than a year. Rebecca Mullen of The Flour House bakery in Riverstick, Co Cork, said Storm Babet flooded the bakery last October, and the bakery has now flooded again after Storm Bert.
She said they had received grants from the Red Cross to help them through the last flood, when a lot of damage was done. She added: "Without those grants, we really wouldn't have a business today, it's just really important that small businesses survive weather systems.
"Saturday is one of our busiest days, we've already had to cancel a market because of the weather system, so now we've obviously had to shut the shop today, so we'll be losing money there.
"I've done deliveries of cakes today where I can to the people who have ordered, but now it's the clean up, it's the cost of getting the staff back in, extra hours, working out what is salvageable and what isn't."
She said small businesses were already struggling because of rising costs such as the 13.5 percent VAT rate and staff pay. "Every day counts. You can't miss a day's trade. I think that's what's going to really hurt us. Every single piece of coinage is required to get us through."
Across the border, the arrival of Storm Bert brought disruption with flooding and fallen trees leading to a number of road closures, while some railway lines were also affected. Rail operator Translink said there was “severe disruption” to services with the line between Belfast and Derry closed. A bus substitution service had to be put in place between Antrim and Lanyon Place on the Derry line due to the flooding.
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