ESB crews carrying out repair works to restore power after ‘biblical’ rain in Tralee

Met Éireann earlier issued a fresh status yellow weather warning for thunderstorms on Sunday evening after lightning strikes and flash flooding caused significant damage across the country over the weekend.

Crews with ESB Networks are continuing to carry out repair works to restore power to several thousand homes as a result of the thunderstorms.

The status yellow thunderstorm warning was in place for Cavan, Donegal, Monaghan, Clare, Connacht, Kildare, Longford, Meath, Offaly and Westmeath. The UK Met Office warned of potential thunderstorms in Antrim, Armagh, Fermanagh, Tyrone and Derry.

At the height of the impacts of thunderstorms and lighting some 10,000 homes were affected by outages and left without power.

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A spokesman for ESB Networks said by 4pm on Sunday its crews had restored power to “most of those impacted” by outages in the west and midwest.

“Crews mobilised at first light and restoration efforts in all impacted areas are continuing,” he said.

Cloudy and showery conditions are set to continue throughout the week and, like recent days, the showers will become more widespread in the afternoon and evening, some turning heavy with the potential for thunderstorms and local flooding.

A cleanup operation started on Sunday in Tralee where flash flooding caused damage at a number of premises in the town and in Clare, where a house fire was believed to have been started by a lightning strike during a thunderstorm.

Tralee experienced “torrential thunderstorm downpours” for less than an hour on Saturday afternoon, a spokesperson for Kerry County Council said. Maddens coffee shop in Milk Market Lane had to be evacuated. Co-owner Rebekah Wall told The Irish Times that the rain was “biblical”.

She acknowledged that “amazing” customers helped to bail water out of the shop. “We have a lot of regulars who took off shoes and socks and started bailing out with buckets. They poured it out the window. The customers saved the day.”

Meanwhile, two lifeguards who were taken to hospital after a lightning strike in Co Kerry did not suffer any wounds, a leader in Irish water safety has said.

The lightning strike on Banna beach occurred shortly before 4pm on Saturday.

A yellow weather warning for Kerry and surrounding counties was issued by Met Éireann at 1:30pm on Saturday, but the lifeguards were still attempting to clear people from the water when the strike happened.

Roger Sweeney, deputy chief executive of Water Safety Ireland, told the PA News Agency that the lifeguards are fine but are being monitored in hospital.

“Thankfully both lifeguards are fine, with no entry or exit wounds,” he said.

“The lightning strike happened on Banna beach in Kerry shortly before 4pm. The lifeguards had observed flashes of lightning on the horizon and were in the process of clearing the water of people when a strike occurred on the beach, close to both lifeguards.

“They did not suffer any wounds and were taken by ambulance to hospital where they are being monitored.

“The beach was closed and Banna Rescue, a local voluntary search and rescue unit which is one of the Community Rescue Boats of Ireland did a great job in continuing to clear the water and sand of visitors.

“All lifeguarded beaches in north Kerry were closed as a precaution.”

Video on social media showed flooding in streets across Co Kerry, with a Dunnes Stores in Tralee being evacuated following intense rainfall.

The University Hospital Kerry said it had been impacted by flooding and a number of areas had closed, with people being advised only to come to the hospital in case of emergency. It remains closed on Sunday except for compassionate visits and emergency cases.

The town’s main Dunnes Stores at North Circular Road is also closed today. It suffered roof damage during the torrential rain.

Outgoing mayor of Tralee, Cllr Mikey Sheehy (Fianna Fáil), said businesses were this morning assessing the damage. Most businesses apart from those worst affected would reopen on Monday, Mr Sheehy said. Away from the town centre, the Omniplex cinema on the outskirts of Tralee on the Dan Spring Road was badly affected and remains closed.

“The volume of water that fell was incredible,” Mr Sheehy said.

The downpour lasted for about 45 minutes and it took around the same time for the waters to subside. Gullies and gutters could not deal with the volumes and buildings with flat roofs were badly affected.

Meanwhile, Mr Sweeney from Water Safety Ireland advised against being in or near large bodies of water during the type of weather conditions expected in many areas of Ireland and gave advice on how to tell how far a thunderstorm is.

“If you are in a thunderstorm, cancel any plans to go swimming and if you are swimming, get to shore as quickly as possible, as water conducts electricity, in much the same way as metal pipes and phone lines,” he said.

“Take shelter. The thunder starts as a shockwave from the lightning. The lightning itself can strike up to 10 miles from the centre of a storm.” – Additional reporting: PA