A Status Red alert for Clare has been lifted after the county felt the force of Storm Jorge this afternoon.
Thousands have been without power at various times, trees have been knocked, and travel disrupted as winds of almost 140 kilometres an hour hit the county.
Clare FM’s Fiona Cahill reports…
Storm Jorge has been downgraded to status orange in Clare but several other wind, rain and snow/ice warnings are in place, with authorities advising people not to travel unless absolutely necessary.
Met Eireann issued it’s highest warning for the county for the earlier part of the day, with gusts of up to 137 kilometres per hour recorded at Moneypoint and 109 kilometres per hour at Shannon Airport.
This led to travel disruption, with a number of bus routes cancelled, while some flights at Shannon Airport have been delayed.
The ESB reported issues with its network at at various points throughout the day in Kilrush, Miltown Malbay, Lahinch, Ennistymon, Lisdoonvarna, Newmarket on Fergus, Sixmilebridge and Cratloe.
Thousands have been affected, but additional crews have been deployed to the county and all problems are expected to be resolved this evening.
Clare County Council and Civil Defence crews assisted residents at Springfield, Clonlara this morning in advance of the storm – they were stood down at 12.00 noon during the red warning.
The Defence Forces will resume cover this evening and CCC and Civil Defence crews will be back on duty in the area tomorrow morning.
The clean up operation is due to get underway as soon as conditions allow for it, but motorists are being advised to be on the look out for fallen trees or wires, and debris on the roads.
Emergency services have been already been called out to a number of fallen trees, as well as an ESB tranformer on fire in Bunratty and a window blown out in a shop in Kilrush.
The status orange wind alert remains in place for Clare until midnight tonight, while a yellow snow ice warning is in place until 9 o’clock tomorrow morning.
