As of this evening we have knowledge of at least 45 trees blocking or partially blocking roads and footpaths with up to ten with possible live ESB wires entangled. Kilkenny remains in a Status Red Alert. Our crews will start assessment of the situation first thing in the morning when the cleanup will begin in earnest.
We have worked today in close liaison with the Gardai, Fire Service, HSE, Civil Defence and Army. We will draw on the resources of other agencies as needed tomorrow in an effort to expedite removing trees and clean up.
The message to the public is to only travel if absolutely necessary and if travelling to exercise extreme caution and expect trees, debris and blockages on roads. We will update on a regular basis tomorrow as roads get cleared and reopened.
There are significant areas of the County without power and the knock on impact on Water Supply in areas without power will be monitored tomorrow. We are liaising with the ESB and Irish Water to get power back to affected areas asap.
We will continue to provide updates tomorrow.
