Cork County Council share advice ahead of orange weather warning

Cork County Council crews will be operating throughout the weekend as they warn of potential flooding, particularly in coastal areas.

The council’s Severe Weather Assessment Team have convened this afternoon ahead of a Met Éireann Status Orange Rainfall Warning for Cork.

The Status Orange warning comes into effect at midnight tonight and will remain in place until midnight on Sunday morning.

Very heavy and persistent rain is forecast with the highest accumulation in mountainous areas of west Cork, with the potential for tidal flooding in coastal areas. Possible impacts include river and coastal flooding, dangerous driving conditions and travel disruption.

Members of the public are advised to stay away from coastal areas with the Irish Coast Guard appealing to people to “Stay Back, Stay High, Stay Dry”.

Dangerous travelling conditions are possible, the council warned, advising road users to pay particular attention to the risk posed by fallen trees and flying debris as trees are in full leaf and never drive through flooded roads, as the depth of the water can be deceiving.

Cork County Council crews have mobilised and continue to inspect key high-risk areas, with crews set to operate throughout the weekend continuing to monitor the situation.

Pumping arrangements will be in place in known problem spots, and sandbags have been deployed to priority locations.

Issues such as flooding and road damage can be reported over the course of the weekend to the Council’s Emergency Out of Hours number (021) 4800048.

In the event of an emergency, the council have advised people to call 999 or 112 and request the Fire Service, Ambulance Service, Gardaí or Irish Coastguard as appropriate and not assume others will do it.

In the event of a disruption to power supply, contact ESB Networks at 1800 372 999. Fallen or grounded wires should be avoided and the public are advised to call ESB in assisting with the identification of fallen wires.

Weather updates are available at www.met.ie, and Cork County Council will continue to provide updates on www.corkcoco.ie and across the Council’s social media channels @Corkcoco.