Crisis management teams were put on standby last night as Hurricane Lorenzo continues to make its way towards Ireland.
It continues to travel north-eastwards across the Atlantic, with Met Éireann due to give an update on the situation this morning.
High seas, strong winds, and heavy rain are expected when the hurricane makes landfall as a powerful storm tomorrow.
At a meeting of the National Emergency Co-Ordination Group, Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy outlined what's happening today:
"Met Éireann will be updating their warning advisory from yesterday given what they'll have seen from their modelling over the course of last night and into this morning.
"When they have that advice, we'll convene again as the National Emergency Co-Ordination Group with all the relevant stakeholders and see what actions we can take on foot of that updated advice."
Mr Murphy said coastal areas are due to be worst affected as “very significant storm wave surges” are expected which could be “quite ferocious” and “very dangerous”.
He said the storm could also bring high winds and potentially cause flooding in some areas.
“People will recall we’ve had strong wind events before, Storm Ally, Storm Ophelia, and how dangerous it was in terms of trees, heavy with leaves, falling, bringing down power lines, causing flooding in certain areas,” he said.
Mr Murphy said every local authority has been contacted to ask them to monitor Met Éireann’s forecasts, and prepare for storm impacts by activating crisis management and local co-ordination arrangements.
The public are advised to stay away from coastal areas during this period as there will be high seas.
Very strong winds are predicted which will make driving conditions hazardous, especially for the more vulnerable road users such as cyclists, pedestrians, motorcyclists and high-sided vehicles.
Road users have been warned to pay particular attention to the risk posed by fallen trees and flying debris as trees are in full leaf.
In Dublin, the public have been urged to use an online link to alert authorities to those sleeping rough during stormy weather.
The Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection is on standby with its community welfare officers ready to assist with damage and recovery due to the impacts of the storm.
- Additional reporting by PA
