Clean up operations begin as weather remains unsettled

As the winds calmed and the floods started to recede, people today began to assess the damage caused by some of the worst flooding…

As the winds calmed and the floods started to recede, people today began to assess the damage caused by some of the worst flooding in recent years.

Technicians were working this evening to restore electrical power to households around the country - particularly in the west. ESB says it hoped all homes would be reconnected within the next couple of hours and that about 700 were still without power.

The emergency services have been working since early yesterday in areas of the country most affected by yesterday’s flooding.

Around 25,000 homes across the country were left without power at the height of the bad weather. Over 4,000 homes were reconnected today but flood waters have now receded in most areas.

READ MORE

In Dublin the emergency plan, invoked last night, remained in place this morning after a "peculiar set of weather conditions", including the highest tide since 1924, caused the River Liffey to burst its banks.

Hundreds of Dublin people were evacuated from their homes yesterday as a result of the flooding around the city.

Flash floods caused traffic congestion in Galway, while high tides were being monitored in Co Cork, Waterford and Galway.

Met Éireann said while winds will ease slowly today, there will be heavy showers of rain and hail, with some bringing thunder. It will get colder again in the evening.

As the weather calmed, businesses have said the storm could have cost millions of euro. In Dublin alone it was estimated business losses could total 20 million euros, the Chamber of Commerce said.

On the sporting front, hundreds of Welsh rugby fans were faced with the prospect of missing tomorrow's Six Nations match at Lansdowne Road after ferry crossings were cancelled due to rough weather on the Irish Sea.