Thousands of homes were left without power in Ireland on Saturday morning after Storm Betty made landfall on Friday night.
The storm caused spot flooding and left debris and branches strewn on roads as it moved across the south of the country. It also felled multiple trees in Dublin, causing damage to vehicles.
Almost 3,000 homes in Monageer, County Wexford, were without power on Saturday morning, while 1,700 homes in Castlebridge.
More than 1,000 homes were left without power in Shillelagh, County Wicklow, while a further 1,300 people were affected in Athy, County Kildare. There were 1,100 homes without power in Carraroe, County Galway, and roughly 1,600 homes without power in Saggart, County Dublin.
The ESB said it is working to restore power and estimated that most of the power will be restored by Saturday afternoon.
The storm caused havoc in Dublin, with trees falling on vehicles in several parts of the capital.
Templelogue Road near Bushy Park is currently blocked by a fallen tree
🛣️ Avoid and divert if possible pic.twitter.com/jPQ3tccPov
— Dublin Fire Brigade (@DubFireBrigade) August 19, 2023
A taxi driver escaped injury when a tree landed on the car he was driving in Templeogue, south Dublin, while firefighters were required to remove a tree that had fallen on three vehicles in Beaumont, north Dublin.
#StormBetty
North Strand firefighters were called to this tree down overnight which landed on three vehicles in Beaumont.Working with @ESBNetworks the scene was made safe, no injuries were reported. pic.twitter.com/9gU5r0yVM3
— Dublin Fire Brigade (@DubFireBrigade) August 19, 2023
Gardaí also closed Anglesea Road to the public after trees fell at two different locations on the road, causing damage to parked vehicles.
Anglesea Road in Ballsbridge is closed due to trees down at two locations
Diversions in place@DCCTraffic pic.twitter.com/4AZ7G0UB5w
— Dublin Fire Brigade (@DubFireBrigade) August 19, 2023
There were several collisions on Friday night during the adverse conditions, with four separate single-vehicle collisions occurring on a stretch of the M7 motorway in County Limerick as a result of "drivers losing control of their vehicles", according to An Garda Síochána.
Gardaí are warning the public of adverse road traffic conditions on M7 motorway in Co. Limerick, particularly between junctions 21 & 26.
There have been 4 single vehicle collisions on this stretch of motorway as a result of drivers losing control of their vehicles. pic.twitter.com/K6UNV0oA7w
— An Garda Síochána (@GardaTraffic) August 18, 2023
There were three further crashes reported in County Cork, while flights into Dublin Airport were diverted.
There was also spot flooding in Cork, with Cork City Fire Service taking seven calls on Friday evening and 15 calls overnight. There was also flooding in Clontarf, which is located close to the sea in County Dublin.
Met Éireann reported "severe" gusts of wind reaching speeds of 130 km/h and heavy rain lasting until the early hours of Saturday morning.
An Orange rain warning remained in place until 1 a.m. on Saturday, while an Orange wind warning remained in place until 3 a.m.
Met Éireann has now lifted most weather warnings, although a Status Yellow rain warning remains in place in Donegal, Leitrim, and Sligo with the potential of spot flooding.
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