Ireland under siege: Weather chaos leaves thousands in crisis
Heavy snowfall has paralysed a large part of Ireland. Nearly 80,000 households have been left without access to electricity and water, and dozens of schools have had to suspend operations. Authorities are urging people to exercise extreme caution.
ESB Networks, the Irish electricity provider, is working intensively to restore power to over 41,000 homes, farms, and businesses. However, the company warns that in some cases, repairs might take several days, and the number of customers without electricity might still increase.
Along with power supply issues, water has stopped reaching 40,000 residents. The situation is particularly difficult in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, and Tipperary, where 15,000 people have already been reported without water access. Uisce Éireann reports that another 33,000 households are at risk of supply interruptions due to system failures.
Massive school closures
Heavy snowfall forced educational authorities to close dozens of educational institutions in various parts of the country. Education Minister Norma Foley stated that although most schools remain open, in counties Carlow, Kilkenny, Tipperary, Limerick, Cork, and Kerry, principals are making individual decisions to suspend classes, prioritising students' safety.
In Kildare, classes were cancelled at Castledermot Primary School, Gaelscoil Átha Í, Kildangan Primary School and Knockbeg College. In Cork, among others, Patrician Academy, St Mary's Secondary School, and Davis College are not operating. McEgan College in County Cork has organised remote learning through the Microsoft Teams platform.
Medical services on alert
Most HSE (Health Service Executive) facilities continue to operate despite the challenging weather conditions. However, some scheduled visits and day services have been cancelled due to dangerous road conditions in counties Cork, Kerry, South Tipperary, Laois, and parts of the Mid West.
Bernard Gloster, HSE's director-general, assures that any cancelled services will be rescheduled as soon as possible. "The priority remains ensuring the continuity of critical services, including emergency care, dialysis, cancer treatment, and prenatal care," Gloster emphasises.
In regions affected by extreme weather conditions, medical services are focusing on assisting individuals living alone and those needing medical support at home. HSE has launched a special hotline for patients with concerns about their scheduled appointments.
The exceptionally difficult road conditions prompted the police in Cork to issue a warning for drivers. Officers in Charleville, Mallow, and Kanturk report extremely hazardous road conditions, with many roads impassable. Abandoned vehicles are already appearing on the sides of the roads.
Significant disruptions have occurred on the M3/N3 route heading south, where a pile-up involving several vehicles took place. Meanwhile, authorities in County Kerry report significant snow accumulation on local and secondary roads. Road services are focusing on clearing the main communication routes.
Panic buying in Irish stores. Empty shelves
The winter storm has brought additional consequences. Stores across Ireland are empty after residents stocked up on basic products in fear of the forecasted heavy snowfall. Bread and dairy products have become particularly scarce.
Alan O'Reilly, who runs the popular Carlow Weather account, published revealing photos from Tesco, where the shelves with basic products were empty. "Really, people?" he commented, with his post triggering a flood of similar reports from internet users.
Residents' reactions
In a store in Cornelscourt, customers could not hide their surprise at the scale of the shopping panic. "We exchanged incredulous looks with other shoppers, standing in front of empty shelves," reported one resident. A similar situation occurred in Blackpool, Cork, where finding basic products was difficult after 5:30 PM.
Some internet users point out the exaggerated reaction of society. "Do people really think this will be a repeat of the big snowstorm of 2010?" a commentator asked rhetorically, reminding that current forecasts do not predict such extreme conditions.
Authorities' actions
On Saturday, the National Emergency Coordination Group (NECG) met to prepare for the upcoming weather phenomena. Prime Minister Simon Harris was briefed in detail about the planned actions by the crisis management director.
Met Éireann issued a series of weather warnings of varying degrees. An orange alert for snow and ice covered counties Carlow, Kilkenny, Laois, Offaly, Wicklow, Clare, Limerick, and Tipperary. The warning is in effect from 12:00 PM Greenwich Time on Saturday to the same time on Sunday.
Separate warnings for rain and snow were issued for counties Cork, Kerry, and Waterford, in effect for 24 hours from Saturday afternoon. These same regions also received a yellow warning for heavy rain.
