OPHELIA LIVE UPDATES: Storm force winds intensifying in Meath
18:00
Fallen Trees at following locations:
Dromone to Skerry Cross road blocked
Dromone village @Irish Meats tree down WITH LIVE CABLES
Dromone Village to Knocklock cross blocked
Crossakiel to Fore village blocked
R195 Oldcastle/Virginia Rd blocked
L6815 Ballinaree to Oldcastle also blocked (off R195)
Summerseat Estate, Clonee
Ongar / Clonsilla road
Carriage Road, Navan, blocked
Trim to Dublin Road at Scurlogstown – Tree down (twitter)
Batterstown & Blackhall Cross
Kells to Oldcastle Rd. cleared & Church St Oldcastle cleared
16.55
Gardaí and Emergency Services are currently at the scene of a serious traffic collision on a local road in Ravensdale, Dundalk.
The alarm was raised at approximately 2.45pm when a car was struck by a tree. It is understood a male occupant of the car has been fatally injured.
A recovery operation is currently underway and no further details are available at this time.
Further updates will follow.
16.25
More Fallen trees at...
Tree down Kilbride to Clonee road, road blocked L1008-4
Ratoath/Ashbourne Road just after the 9 mile roundabout.
Dublin road, Dunshaughlin. Be careful of power lines
Dunshaughlin to Ratoath road.
Past Manorland Estate, Kilcloon.
The Department of Education says schools across the country to remain closed again tomorrow.
15.45
There is a large tree and pole and wire down in Oldcastle Co. Meath on the Rahard Road. Thank you and please take caution. (Thanks Lorna Geraghty)
Reports of tree down on the main Navan to Slane road
15.30 UPDATE
Fallen trees and poles
There are electricity poles down on the Kells/Slane Rd (R163) near Oristown.
There is a fallen tree on the main road in Johnstown in Navan.
Outside Dunboyne, the Summerhill Rd (R156) is blocked at Baytowncross due to a fallen tree.
In Kells, there is a fallen tree on the Navan Rd (R147).
There are two separate fallen trees on the Wilkinstown/Navan Rd (R162).
The Old N4 (R148) is blocked at Ardnamullen on the Kinnegad side of Clonard due to a fallen tree.
15.00 UPDATE
TREES DOWN:
Reports of trees down in Fordstown near Causey Farm (below) and approach road into Dunderry from Navan. Wind speeds are picking up across the Dublin and Leinster Regions. There are widespread reports of trees down and debris across the roads network. North Leinster expected to see increasing wind speed in next couple of hours
TREES DOWN
- On the Old N4 between Kilcock and Enfield
- On the Navan to Dunderry Road (at O'Briens Valeting)
- On the R147 Navan to Dublin Road near Garlow Cross
TREES DOWN:
Meath County Council advise that there are Fallen trees at following locations:
Aura Swimming Pool, Navan
Warrenstown Arms between Dunshaughlin and Trim
Between Knock Cross and Lobinstown Village
Newhaggard Road Trim, past Manorland Est.
Kilcloon
Navan to Athboy Road – 600m on Athboy side of M3
FIRE SERVICE:
All fire service units in Meath will be on standby in local fire stations from 3pm. Ashbourne, Navan and Nobber Fire Services have already been out dealing with fallen trees.
TESCO: All Tesco Ireland stores have now closed due to the Hurricane Ophelia. "We colleagues today who did their best to serve customers in the few hours this morning before the storm hit. We will reopen once it is safe to do so. All colleagues who were due to work today but were unable to turn in due to difficulties travelling or for other reasons will be paid for today. We hope everyone stays safe today," the company said in a statement.
NEDOC
Patients are being advised that the NEDOC treatment centres in Navan, Drogheda, Castleblaney and Cavan will not open this evening, Monday 16th October due to the Red Weather Alert issued by Met Eireann.
With hurricane winds due to work their way up the country, severe conditions will hit the North East and Northern counties from mid-afternoon until tonight. Met Eireann have advised against all unnecessary journeys.
A skeleton service will be in operation from 6pm this evening to answer phones and triage calls. All patients are advised to heed the Met Eireann weather warning.
NEDOC is an urgent out of hours GP service and is not a replacement for the emergency services. Patients in need of emergency care should contact the emergency services.
Normal NEDOC services will resume at 6pm on Tuesday 17th October.
Irish Water
Irish Water has incident plans in place and crews on standby to deal with the effects of Storm Ophelia. Irish Water recognises that the predicted conditions are likely to result in power outages at critical water and wastewater installations which could compromise service delivery. Heavy rainfall may also increase the risk of flooding.
Power outages may impact the operation of our water treatment plants which would compromise the safety of drinking water. Where risk arises, working with the HSE, Irish Water will impose precautionary Boil Water Notices as necessary.
Irish Water is collating information on outages and other issues and will be updating our website constantly during this crisis. We envisage that crews will be unlikely to be able to respond to breakdowns in plants until it is safe to do so and this may lead to a loss of service for a period. However Irish Water and Local Authorities crews will respond as quickly as possible to restore services when it is safe to do so.
If you have issues with your water supply please view their service supply map on water.ie, visit twitter at @IWCare or call us on 1850 278 278.
"We would appreciate if members of the public would only call if there is an emergency as there are staff shortages in our call centre in Cork today. If there is a high volume of calls there may be some delay in getting through, we are grateful for your patience and cooperation," she said.
Meath County Council
Meath County Council has said its public offices will close from 11.00am this morning due to the hurricane Ophelia status red warning,
This includes the Motor Tax Office, libraries, and all council run services.
People are advised to heed the weather warnings in place and avoid any unnecessary travel.
If you must travel, please watch out for fallen trees and debris. Do not cycle or walk, particularly in coastal areas, and do not touch any fallen wires.
Emergency services and council crews are remaining on standby but will only be responding when it is safe to do so.
Basic cover arrangements will be provided by Customer Service at Buvinda House until 5pm this evening and the emergency number 1890 445 335 may be contacted after 5pm.
ALONE, the charity which supports older people in need, is urging older people to take extra care following the status red wind warning by Met Éireann.
People are being advised to stay indoors.
Older people can be more vulnerable during poor weather and stormy conditions. Older people most at risk are those living alone, those with health issues, and those with limited mobility. ALONE is calling on members of the public to check on their older neighbours and assist them if they need to travel to the local shop or post office during the bad weather. ALONE is also asking older people who are concerned about their own wellbeing during the stormy weather to call for assistance and help if needed.
Those who have concerns for an older person, or older people in need of assistance can contact ALONE on (01) 679 1032.
This is the strongest storm to hit Ireland since 1961 and is capable of causing a lot of damage. Here's what we know so far
- All schools closed today
- Bus Eireann services cancelled NATIONWIDE until at least 2pm today
- All outpatient Hospital appointments cancelled today
- Due to Health and Safety Precautions the Recycling Centres at Navan, Kells and Trim will remain closed today, Monday 16th October.
- Meath Co.Council is advising people to take care & heed the public safety messages for tomorrow's severe weather conditions
- Important Numbers
- ESB Contact Numbers - @ESBNetworks 1850 372 999
- @GasNetIrl 1850 205 050,
- @MeathCoCo 046 9097000, Out of hours 1890 445 335
HOSPITALS:
HSE Statement..
Due to the upgrading of the “Red” weather warning by Met Eireann to the whole country as a result of storm Ophelia, patients need to take note of the following;
Outpatients: all hospital outpatient appointments are being cancelled tomorrow Monday 16th October. Consequently, patients do not need to attend or contact the hospital and they will be rescheduled as soon as possible.
Scheduled/planned procedures: Patients who are scheduled to have a planned procedure can contact the hospital in the morning to confirm if their procedure is going ahead. In order to minimise unnecessary travel risks for patients, only urgent procedures will take place tomorrow.
AN POST
Services in Meath will continue this morning but all staff have been ordered to finish at 12pm today.
Due to the red weather alert issued by Met Eireann, postal deliveries and Post Office services will be disrupted today, Monday 16th October.An Post is monitoring the situation on a county-by-county basis and we are taking advice from Met Eireann and the National Emergency Coordination Committee.Mail delivery and collection services have been suspended everywhere except for counties: Dublin, Meath, Westmeath, Leitrim, Louth, Longford, Cavan, Roscommon and Monaghan. In these counties, services will cease before 12 Noon to ensure staff safety. Post Office services are currently operating as normal where it is safe to remain open.We will make every effort to resume all affected postal and Post Office services as quickly as possible.We advise customers to check our website and twitter (@postvox) for further updates.
DUBLIN AIRPORT:
In a Facebook post, the airport wrote that Aer Lingus, British Airways, Air France, CityJet and KLM have cancelled some services, and that Ryanair have currently not cancelled any.
The statement reads:
A number of flights to and from Dublin Airport have been cancelled tomorrow due to the expected impact of Hurricane Ophelia.
Aer Lingus, British Airways, Air France, CityJet and KLM have all cancelled some services for tomorrow. The airlines in question are contacting passengers directly in relation to any services that have been affected.
Ryanair has said its flights are expected to operate as scheduled, but has asked passengers to check its website and social media outlets for the latest updates.
However, all passengers are still advised to contact their airline tomorrow before flying — and to keep an eye on Dublin Airport's Hurricane Ophelia update page.
LOCAL SERVICES:
A number of public services and businesses nationwide have announced that they will be closed today due to safety concerns.
Dunnes Stores and Easons will remain closed today.
Meanwhile, Tesco said that its stores would be operating as usual "unless local conditions permit otherwise". Customers and staff were advised to check with their local store before travelling.
The Irish Pharmacy Union advised that many pharmacies will be closed today, customers and patients have been advised to call ahead before visiting their local pharmacy.
All Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, High, Special, Circuit and District Courts sittings in the country have been postponed.
All driving tests, theory tests and driver licencing centres are closed today.
Penneys has confirmed it will be closing all Irish stores. "We are closing all of our stores in the Republic of Ireland & Northern Ireland and our head office today, 16th October, due to Storm Ophelia. The safety of our people and our customers is our top priority. We will re-open tomorrow, 17th October," the brand said in a statement this morning.
Johnstown Shopping centre Due to the expected adverse weather conditions and for staff safety, Day Today News in Johnstown shopping centre will close today at 12pm. Apologies for the inconvenience. Back open tomorrow at 8.45am