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Storm Ophelia - General Discussion/Local reports - See MOD NOTE Post #1

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    #6182
    FrancieBrady
    Registered Users Posts: 67,234 ✭✭✭✭FrancieBrady


    bucketybuck wrote: »
    The gas thing is the amount of people in this thread on Sunday criticising the fact that there hadn't yet been a full country red alert.

    And now people criticise that there was a full country red alert. They can't win.

    and the same people will never understand that it is never about 'winning' when it comes to safety.


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    #6183
    _Dara_
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,971 ✭✭✭_Dara_


    fraxinus1 wrote: »
    I think Met E had it spot on with their forecast on Friday when they had the SW under a RED. They should have left it at that. The rest of the country was under an orange alert which in the NW was a stretch too but it would have been enough to make people take heed.

    Two of the deaths occurred in areas that were originally under an orange alert.

    This event was unique and there were no real past events to call on to figure out how this might pan out. So they were absolutely correct to issue a nationwide red warning.


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    #6184
    Nettle Soup
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,312 ✭✭✭Nettle Soup


    _Dara_ wrote: »
    Two of the deaths occurred in areas that were originally under an orange alert.

    This event was unique and there were no real past events to call on to figure out how this might pan out. So they were absolutely correct to issue a nationwide red warning.

    Red or Orange, nobody should go out with a chainsaw in a storm. That was a needless death.


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    #6185
    FrancieBrady
    Registered Users Posts: 67,234 ✭✭✭✭FrancieBrady


    Nettle Soup wrote: »
    Red or Orange, nobody should go out with a chainsaw in a storm. That was a needless death.

    Unfortunately as we can see from the thread, there are those who think they know better and will disregard warnings.

    In the deceased's defence it was reported his home was under threat from a partially fallen tree and he tried to take action. Tragic and RIP.


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    #6186
    Irish Steve
    Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators Posts: 6,521 Mod ✭✭✭✭Irish Steve


    Other than the fact that he was using it to try and clear the road, the chainsaw is irrelevant, the death was caused by another tree falling while he was trying to remove the one that had already fallen. That could so very easily have been a local authority worker or a member of a fire crew doing exactly the same thing.

    Shore, if it was easy, everybody would be doin it.😁



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    #6187
    retro:electro
    Registered Users Posts: 21,039 ✭✭✭✭retro:electro


    Can't believe people are actually saying they'll disgregard future red warnings because of yesterday. Have you ever heard anything as moronic in your life? I've read a lot of crap over the few days but THAT takes the biscuit.


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    #6188
    Bishopsback
    Registered Users Posts: 981 ✭✭✭Bishopsback


    anna080 wrote: »
    Can't believe people are actually saying they'll disgregard future red warnings because of yesterday. Have you ever heard anything as moronic in your life? I've read a lot of crap over the few days but THAT takes the biscuit.

    A lot of whingers will whinge anyway, no matter what the situation, they'd probably be whinging about the lack of warning today if the warning had been a less one and three unfortunate deaths.
    No one will ever know for sure how many lives were probably saved by the warnings.
    We don't need anymore Michael Fish situations.


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    #6189
    SusieBlue
    Registered Users Posts: 8,029 ✭✭✭SusieBlue


    Yeah because the typical, Irish storm uproots 42 trees in a neighborhood, blows the entire roof off a secondary school sports hall and collapses a spectator stand at the local football grounds. And that's just within a 10 minute distance of where I live.

    Honestly, how no one was killed by that flying roof is a miracle. Things could have been far, far worse. We got away lightly because of the very red alert that everyone is moaning about.


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    #6190
    Mrself
    Registered Users Posts: 25 ✭Mrself


    So here in Dublin that was a non event. But clearly some parts of the country got it bad. My family in Waterford were battered. I think the right call was made, better safe than sorry. I know for a fact our local school suatained no damage and my kids could be in school now but I understand why they made the decision to close schools. Im interested to see what , if anything, happens with this next storm.


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    #6191
    An Ri rua
    Registered Users Posts: 4,479 ✭✭✭An Ri rua


    fraxinus1 wrote: »
    I have been out and about around South Donegal and cannot find any evidence apart from leaves that justified putting the north west under a RED warning. Neighbours are baffled.

    I understand people died and that's terrible and power lost but the fact remains, only four counties reached the threshold that triggers a RED alert. My worry is that next time a red alert is called people in the bulk of the country will not take it seriously.

    I am not trolling. I am not downplaying matters but this event was a south coast event. 100kmph gusts in the northwest happens several times a year. I think Met E had it spot on with their forecast on Friday when they had the SW under a RED. They should have left it at that. The rest of the country was under an orange alert which in the NW was a stretch too but it would have been enough to make people take heed. Majority of people are not stupid, if there is a severe storm blowing most parents would not put children out to school.

    As for the media, let's all be honest it was way over the top. TV crews struggled to find damage outside the southern counties. The winds in Sligo town barely touched gale force and Eileen Magnier was clearly feeling silly reporting live from there.

    Lots of serious damage in the south Midlands. Up until Sunday night, the eye of the storm had re-formed, if I am correct, and was heading up the centre of the country if it maintained its course.

    They were dead right to issue red for the whole country.


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    #6192
    r93kaey5p2izun
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,962 ✭✭✭r93kaey5p2izun


    There are hundreds of trees down around Dublin with several roads blocked. Power is still out in several locations around Dublin. There is damage to lots of cars and homes around Dublin. People referencing it being a non-event in Dublin are misinformed. It was thankfully not as bad as for the south and south east but it was a significant event and if people had gone about their business as normal in Dublin then I am sure there would have been more fatalities.

    I find these posts baffling.


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    #6193
    fraxinus1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 240 ✭✭fraxinus1


    listermint wrote: »
    Dundalk was not meant to get that level of Gusts,


    A 33 year old father of 2 is dead.


    What should we do in these situations in your humble opinion ?

    20 minute warning ? 1 Hour warning ? No warning 'knock yourselfs out' ?


    You just cant win with people, always have to moan and give out regardless of the subject matter.

    Winds in Dundalk did not come anywhere close to a status RED alert level. In theory a 65kmph gust can knock a weakened tree on top of someone yet gusts of those strength don't even get a yellow warning. That tree was coming down whether Dundalk was in an amber or red zone.


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    #6194
    fraxinus1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 240 ✭✭fraxinus1


    Colby Tall Shootout wrote: »
    There are hundreds of trees down around Dublin with several roads blocked. Power is still out in several locations around Dublin. There is damage to lots of cars and homes around Dublin. People referencing it being a non-event in Dublin are misinformed. It was thankfully not as bad as for the south and south east but it was a significant event and if people had gone about their business as normal in Dublin then I am sure there would have been more fatalities.

    I find these posts baffling.

    Not true. Hundreds of trees were not felled in Dublin. Structural damage is very minor. And power was lost to a small number of areas mainly in the north of the county. My son lives in Dublin and came across just one felled tree near Clondalkin.


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    #6195
    Bishopsback
    Registered Users Posts: 981 ✭✭✭Bishopsback


    fraxinus1 wrote: »
    Winds in Dundalk did not come anywhere close to a status RED alert level. In theory a 65kmph gust can knock a weakened tree on top of someone yet gusts of those strength don't even get a yellow warning. That tree was coming down whether Dundalk was in an amber or red zone.

    Hard to predict exactly where gusts of more strength will take place though.
    Can you assert for certain that the gust that knocked that tree wasn't above 65 kmh?


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    #6196
    Drumpot
    Registered Users Posts: 19,306 ✭✭✭✭Drumpot


    Nettle Soup wrote: »
    That's exactly the sentiment in Galway. People are baffled.

    People are indeed baffled on many levels and as such should rely on the advice of emergency services and professionals who have a greater knowledge on these sort of things.

    One thing that I am absolutely certain in all of this is that nobody knew how things were going to play out. I am also certain that the people saying "they shouldn't of issued a red warning" didn't have to make the call that could of killed somebody.

    The only thing absolute about "they made the wrong call" you can say is that this statement could only be made with definitive accuracy after the storm had left our shores.


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    #6197
    fraxinus1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 240 ✭✭fraxinus1


    Bishopsback wrote: »
    Hard to predict exactly where gusts of more strength will take place though.
    Can you assert for certain that the gust that knocked that tree wasn't above 65 kmh?

    I'm not saying that particular tree was felled by a 65kmph gust. I'm saying that the winds that knocked it were no where near RED alert level. The point I'm making is that we can't go red every time there are strong winds forecast. And whether we go red or not, people can and do still unfortunately get killed.


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    #6198
    spockety
    Moderators, Education Moderators Posts: 5,457 Mod ✭✭✭✭spockety


    Mrself wrote: »
    So here in Dublin that was a non event. But clearly some parts of the country got it bad. My family in Waterford were battered. I think the right call was made, better safe than sorry. I know for a fact our local school suatained no damage and my kids could be in school now but I understand why they made the decision to close schools. Im interested to see what , if anything, happens with this next storm.

    I could upload a hundred more images like this from around Dublin. Pity anyone standing under 'non events' like these.


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    #6199
    keane2097
    Registered Users Posts: 17,770 ✭✭✭✭keane2097


    spockety wrote: »
    I could upload a hundred more images like this from around Dublin. Pity anyone standing under 'non events' like these.

    That must be the one felled tree in Clondalkin presumably.


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    #6200
    Bishopsback
    Registered Users Posts: 981 ✭✭✭Bishopsback


    fraxinus1 wrote: »
    I'm not saying that particular tree was felled by a 65kmph gust. I'm saying that the winds that knocked it were no where near RED alert level. The point I'm making is that we can't go red every time there are strong winds forecast. And whether we go red or not, people can and do still unfortunately get killed.

    That's true to a point, the problem is though that people ignore the warnings, not the warnings themselves.
    I don't make light of any death or want to criticise any individual as I don't know the full circumstances here, but if the warning about travel had been heeded who would ever know if that life had been saved?


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    #6201
    r93kaey5p2izun
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,962 ✭✭✭r93kaey5p2izun


    fraxinus1 wrote: »
    Not true. Hundreds of trees were not felled in Dublin. Structural damage is very minor. And power was lost to a small number of areas mainly in the north of the county. My son lives in Dublin and came across just one felled tree near Clondalkin.

    There are 13 trees I'm aware of in my estate and three neighbouring estates alone. I see 6 reports of trees down in Clondalkin. I know of 7 in Lucan. There's many more reported by DFB and on twitter. The power was gone for hours yesterday in Clondalkin and went again after it came back. Several other areas affected around the county - see the power check map. I personally know of damage to four houses (one window blew in, two with slates off roofs and one with a tree through the kitchen window)and 8 gardens (walls, fences and sheds). More to see on twitter/Facebook/local newspaper sites.


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    #6202
    Mrself
    Registered Users Posts: 25 ✭Mrself


    spockety wrote: »
    I could upload a hundred more images like this from around Dublin. Pity anyone standing under 'non events' like these.

    My part of Dublin certainly was a non event. Probably a bit more damage in coastal areas of Dublin. Just giving my view from the view I had ie my window!


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    #6203
    mloc123
    Registered Users Posts: 9,454 ✭✭✭mloc123


    Colby Tall Shootout wrote: »
    There are 13 trees I'm aware of in my estate and three neighbouring estates alone. I see 6 reports of trees down in Clondalkin. I know of 7 in Lucan. There's many more reported by DFB and on twitter. The power was gone for hours yesterday in Clondalkin and went again after it came back. Several other areas affected around the county - see the power check map. I personally know of damage to four houses (one window blew in, two with slates off roofs and one with a tree through the kitchen window)and 8 gardens (walls, fences and sheds). More to see on twitter/Facebook/local newspaper sites.

    No, no... I didn't see anything outside my house... so obviously it was a non-event.

    :rolleyes:


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    #6204
    NetChat101
    Registered Users Posts: 93 ✭✭NetChat101


    Bishopsback wrote: »
    Hard to predict exactly where gusts of more strength will take place though.
    Can you assert for certain that the gust that knocked that tree wasn't above 65 kmh?

    Are people now arguing back and forth over the speed of the gust of wind that resulted in a death!!!!! Unbelievable!! I'm sure the deceased's family will find comfort in the fact that you so genuinely care about their life changing event. Will people grow up and cop on.


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    #6205
    BailMeOut
    Registered Users Posts: 2,977 ✭✭✭BailMeOut


    The folks most affected by Ophelia still do not have power and in most cases no mobile. Kinsale for example has zero power and zero mobile phone coverage anywhere in or around the town. People are driving to the airport to just get on line to find out what's going on.

    The local SuperValu has a generator and it is busier than a Christmas eve this morning and you should see the line for coffee!!

    Personally this was the most violent and scary storm I have ever experienced and we were genuinely petrified at times. There was no let up with very high winds from 9am to 9pm and we abandoned the back of house as we really expected the windows to crash in on us.

    Fortunately everyone took the warnings here seriously and there were no reported local injuries from it.

    I have been busy all morning cleaning up and garden was a complete mess. Our she'd is destroyed as was the patio furniture and BBQ none of which I care about. House lost a few slates and cap ripped off chimney. Green wheelie bin is also missing!

    So scary day but I guess could have been a lot worse.


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    #6206
    marno21
    Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 14,361 Mod ✭✭✭✭marno21


    216k remain without power. 90k of these are in Cork.

    20k remain without water. This figure is expected to rise as backup power runs out at water plants in areas without electricity.

    169k customers got their power back since 3:30pm yesterday. For half of that time since the red warning has still been in effect. Fair play to the ESB.


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    #6207
    Drumpot
    Registered Users Posts: 19,306 ✭✭✭✭Drumpot


    fraxinus1 wrote: »
    I'm not saying that particular tree was felled by a 65kmph gust. I'm saying that the winds that knocked it were no where near RED alert level. The point I'm making is that we can't go red every time there are strong winds forecast. And whether we go red or not, people can and do still unfortunately get killed.

    Most people don't know the difference between Red Warning and Orange warning in weather terms. An orange warning would of been in effect where one of the people was killed in Louth! If they had of left Louth as an orange alert, more people would of been on the roads, do you think it would of increased/reduced the chance of more people being killed given a person died in spite of the red warning ?!

    I think its generally accepted that the red warning was advised for operational reasons, as opposed to sticking with meteorological terms. It was a practical use of phrase "red warning" to get people off the roads and it makes sense.

    While I am at it stating that the storm is being "downgraded" is also a very poor way of communicating the changing nature of a storm. It implies to most people that the storm wont be as bad and Joanna actually had to explain that it didn't mean this!!. I think this is a problem, certain terminology can be dangerous when taken out of context.

    Your argument now appears to be more about them abusing the term "red warning" in meteorological context. Maybe you should focus your anger at emergency protocols and communication? That is a more productive conversation to have , something like " could the impact and dangers of the storm be communicated better to people that wasn't just pawning off all responsibility to the weather forecasters?".


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    #6208
    Charles Babbage
    Registered Users Posts: 5,539 ✭✭✭Charles Babbage


    Pintman Paddy Losty wrote: »
    That's the point mate.

    The storm might have been bad in some localised areas (the South coast). It was very unremarkable for most of the rest of the country. You can't seem to say that here without essentially being accused of dancing on the graves of the unfortunate people who passed away.

    How many people pass away in an unremarkable storm?


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    #6209
    First Up
    Registered Users Posts: 14,822 ✭✭✭✭First Up


    Can I ask those wittering on about what colour warnings should have been used, what bloody difference it would have made to them? Are there things they would have done differently if it had been yellow, orange or polka-dotted?

    It was a dangerous and unpredictable storm and anywhere on the right side of caution is better than the alternative. The Red warning level allowed the greatest discretion to schools, employers and individuals and that makes eminent sense.

    Of course the media hyped it up - thats what the media does. It doesn't mean that those with responsibility for services and safety shouldn't have acted responsibly.


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    #6210
    Knex*
    Registered Users Posts: 22,477 ✭✭✭✭Knex*


    anna080 wrote: »
    Can't believe people are actually saying they'll disgregard future red warnings because of yesterday. Have you ever heard anything as moronic in your life? I've read a lot of crap over the few days but THAT takes the biscuit.

    A monumental display of idiocy. The mind boggles.

    "Oh this thing that people died in? Nah, be grand. Sure I can take on a flying tree no problem".

    It'll be Hurricane Darwin Award for sure then.


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    #6211
    Bishopsback
    Registered Users Posts: 981 ✭✭✭Bishopsback


    NetChat101 wrote: »
    Are people now arguing back and forth over the speed of the gust of wind that resulted in a death!!!!! Unbelievable!! I'm sure the deceased's family will find comfort in the fact that you so genuinely care about their life changing event. Will people grow up and cop on.

    Jaez, where'd that come from? I specifically said in another post I wasn't making light of any death or reason for it in prior reply to the poster.


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