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A tree down in Kilcummin earlier today. Photo: Kerry County Council
THE Cathaoirleach and Chief Executive of Kerry County Council have thanked members of the public in Kerry for their patience and cooperation during Storm Eunice.
Thousands of homes and businesses were left without power and many trees were felled by the force of the storm this morning, but there were no serious incidents or injuries.
However, there were some strong gusts with one of 133km/h recorded in Banna and part of the old shop/takeaway near the beach there collapsed this morning.
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Cathaoirleach Cllr Jimmy Moloney paid tribute to local authority staff and the emergency services for their work in dealing with road closures and other challenges overnight and today.
“Thankfully, Kerry escaped from Storm Eunice without any serious incident. That was due to the cooperation of the public in heeding the weather warnings and remaining indoors during the course of Friday morning.
‘Tremendous work continues to be done today by the staff of Kerry County Council around the county in clearing roads of fallen trees, branches and debris and in assisting ESB Networks in their work.”
The Chief Executive of Kerry County Council, Moira Murrell, said that the interagency cooperation in advance of Storm Eunice was hugely important.
“The Kerry Severe Weather Coordination Team had been preparing for a Status Red alert for several days and met regularly to coordinate the response. The weather event was the subject of intense emergency planning in recent days which enhanced the response effort.
“Our crews responded to the issues which arose when it was safe to do so and ensured that routes were reopened as soon as possible.
“I would like to thank the many agencies who assisted in coordinating the response including An Garda Síochána, the HSE, ESB Networks, and local authority emergency services.’
Any outstanding issues can be reported to the Council’s Emergency Line on 066 7183588.
