Cork County Council issues advice ahead of Storm Bert

Cork County Council have warned of surface flooding, river flooding, and very difficult travelling conditions this weekend as weather warnings are in place.

The council’s Severe Weather Assessment Team convened this afternoon in advance of Storm Bert, which is forecast to bring intense falls of rain over a short period of time overnight on Friday and into Saturday morning.

Met Éireann has issued a Status Orange Rainfall Warning for Cork which comes into effect at midnight and remains in place until 10am on Saturday 23 November.

Over the weekend, Storm Bert will move close to Ireland, displacing the recent cold Artic airmass. Very strong winds and heavy rain will track north eastwards over Ireland on Friday night, which will continue right through the weekend.

The council advised that crews will be deployed to inspect key high-risk areas and will continue to monitor the situation throughout the period. Flood barriers will be installed in Mallow and Fermoy as a precaution, pumping arrangements will be in place in known problem locations, and sandbags will be available at priority locations.

Members of the public are advised to exercise caution as driving conditions may be dangerous overnight on Friday and into Saturday morning, due to a possibility of spot flooding.

Motorists are advised to avoid driving through flowing or standing water and to exercise caution during heavy rain, and are asked to be conscious of cyclists, pedestrians and other vulnerable road users.

Additionally, a Status Yellow low temperature/ice warning is currently in place until noon tomorrow, and Cork County Council will continue to treat all priority routes during this cold snap.

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.

The council advised the public to call 999 or 112 and request the Fire Service, Ambulance Service, Gardaí or Irish Coastguard as appropriate in the event of an emergency and not to assume others will do this.

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.