Get ready for 24-hour bashing in storm blast

BRACED: Tens of thousands of sandbags are in place. Photo: Senan Doran O'Reilly

By Alan O'Keeffe

Saturday November 06 2010

THE FIRST big storm of winter will hit Dublin tomorrow night -- and could last for more than 24 hours.

The capital and other coastal communities are on high alert today amid fears that high tides, heavy rainfall and storm-force winds could cause serious flooding problems for householders and businesses.

Flood warnings will remain active until Monday evening as the nation braced itself for a severe storm due to hit the country tomorrow.

The storm is expected to strike the west coast in the afternoon, and will hit Dublin in the evening.

Met Eireann today updated its severe weather warning for tomorrow and Monday, saying a low-pressure system, coupled with the high tides and storm surges, could cause several coastal areas to be flooded.

Dublin City Council along with local authorities in Cork, Wicklow and Galway are distributing tens of thousands of sandbags to residents in at-risk areas, while emergency crews are on standby for the approaching storm.

In the capital, council executives, gardai and health service personnel met today and will meet tomorrow and on Monday to co-ordinate the response to the severe weather alert. Met Eireann warned the danger period will continue into Monday night.

Intense

"There's bad weather on the way. It will be intense, and Sunday and Monday will see the worst of the winds, which will be up to 100kph on the west coast," said a Met Eireann forecaster.

The most at-risk areas are Dublin, Cork and Galway. High tide in Dublin is at midnight tomorrow and noon on Monday, and people living in Clontarf and Sandymount are at most risk of flooding in Dublin.

Gardai warned people not to drive on flooded roads and to be particularly careful when driving close to rivers. The ESB stated it is monitoring water flows from its dams on the River Liffey to ensure that the river does not flood.

A spokeswoman said: "ESB uses its large reservoir at Pollaphouca to store as much as possible of the rainfall, limiting flows from its dams into the Liffey. We will alter flows as required."

In Galway, a tidal barrier at the city's Spanish Arch has been put in place and people in Cork were warned to carefully monitor weather alerts with sandbags already prepared for dispersal in low-lying areas of the city centre.

Councils in Wicklow, Clare, Waterford City, Tipperary, Wexford and Sligo put emergency crews on standby for the weekend and have made sandbags available.

Met Eireann said icy patches could develop on roads tonight and with some freezing fog developing in places. Lowest temperatures plus 1 to --3 C.

It will be very cold and frosty at first tomorrow, with icy roads and patches of freezing fog. Dry and bright for the morning, with some hazy sunshine in many places, but the fog may be slow to lift over parts of Ulster.

Surge

Very wet and very windy weather developing in Atlantic coastal areas by early afternoon, will sweep across the country by evening.

The storm depression will affect the country during Sunday night and for a time on Monday and this will create a tidal surge, and some coastal flooding