Ireland counts cost of Ophelia
- 7 years ago
Tropical storm Ophelia left a trail of death and destruction in its wake as it battered every corner of Ireland. Three people were killed in separate incidents and over three hundred thousand homes were without electricity.
The storm, downgraded from a hurricane overnight, saw winds as strong as 190 kilometres per hour and was the worst to hit Ireland in half a century.
It is now gradually weakening as it moves north towards England and Scotland. But the authorities are warning people to remain cautious.
“After the storm leaves your area don`t rush out. Use extreme caution before going outside,” said Conor Murrachu, Garda Spokesperson. “There will be fallen power lines, there will be unsafe structures, there will be trees across roads. As people move around the country in the aftermath of the storm we`re asking them to be extremely careful and use extreme caution.”
While winds were moderate in London, the sky turned an unusual shade of yellow as the storm brought dust from the Sahara and smoke from wild fires in southern Europe.
The storm, downgraded from a hurricane overnight, saw winds as strong as 190 kilometres per hour and was the worst to hit Ireland in half a century.
It is now gradually weakening as it moves north towards England and Scotland. But the authorities are warning people to remain cautious.
“After the storm leaves your area don`t rush out. Use extreme caution before going outside,” said Conor Murrachu, Garda Spokesperson. “There will be fallen power lines, there will be unsafe structures, there will be trees across roads. As people move around the country in the aftermath of the storm we`re asking them to be extremely careful and use extreme caution.”
While winds were moderate in London, the sky turned an unusual shade of yellow as the storm brought dust from the Sahara and smoke from wild fires in southern Europe.