Emergency measures put in place for severe weather

Sailors and fisherman have been warned about conditions on the Irish Sea, and the Coast Guard has urged people to stay away from…

Sailors and fisherman have been warned about conditions on the Irish Sea, and the Coast Guard has urged people to stay away from all coastal areas following a severe weather warning from Met Éireann.

Motorists have also been warned to take extra care while driving and be aware of falling debris.

A spokeswoman for Dublin City Council advised members of the public that the Liffey boardwalk - which was closed for part of last night - will also be closed at 11.30am-2.30pm today in advance of the high tide.

There was minimal disruption to flights and ferries last night as storm force winds began to hit the country.

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Gusts of up to 150 km/h were expected in some areas. With forecasters warning that heavy rain and high seas could lead to flooding, Dublin City Council put a number of flood prevention measures in place.

A spokeswoman for Dublin airport said evening flights were not disrupted and airlines were not predicting any delays to flights due to depart later last night.

Ferries departed from Dublin according to schedule but the Rosslare-Pembroke ferry due to set sail at 9pm was cancelled, a spokesman for Irish Ferries said.

The severe weather was expected to continue into today. A spokesman for Met Éireann said winds were expected to pick up again in the western part of Munster this morning, before extending to the rest of the country through the evening.

"It will still be quite blustery on Monday evening, but winds will ease down Monday night," he added.

In addition to the closure of the boardwalk, a number of roads and parts of roads in the Sandymount area will be closed during those hours, to coincide with the timing of the flood warning.

The council has put a number of precautionary flood relief measures in place at key locations in Sandymount, Ringsend and Clontarf in addition to substantial defence works, which have been carried out over the last six years, she said. Forklifts have also been used to place heavy dam bags on the seafront in "at risk" areas.

"All the gulleys in those areas and general surroundings have been cleaned over the last few days. We will have crews on the ground over the period," she said.

The emergency number for Dublin City Council will be manned over the four hours of the high tide period at 01-6796186.

However, Damien Cassidy, chairman of the Ringsend Irishtown Sandymount Environmental Group, last night strongly criticised the council for failing to introduce adequate flood prevention measures following the flooding of 500 homes in the Ringsend area six years ago. This was a "very frightening" experience for those affected, he said.