Major disruption as Storm Debi leaves her mark in Longford

Well over 1,000 homes across Longford were without power on Tuesday morning as ESB crews struggled to deal with the aftermath of Storm Debi. The county was one of the worst affected when the storm battered the country.

At one point on Monday morning, 100,000 people were without electricity across Ireland after the heavy winds and rain from the storm.

The winds and fallen trees resulting from the red level weather alerts caused major disruptions to power supplies on Monday morning. Tuesday's power check app indicated that 28 areas in Longford continued to be without power.

Clondra, Tarmonbarry, Edgeworthstown, Newtownforbes, Granard, Mullinalaghta, Moyne, Ballymahon and Newtowncashel were among the towns and villages across the county where ESB crews were working on Tuesday morning.

The impact of families, particularly those with young children, was particularly profound.

“We've been out of power since 5:45 am on Monday morning,” Dessie Connolly from Briskill, Newtownforbes told the Leader, “We have two young children. One is five months old and the other is two years old. The effects of being without power are very stressful.

“We are not able to sterilise bottles, we can only boil water because we bought a camping stove. There is no heating in the house. We have to light a fire and stay in one room to keep warm. It's a disaster,” the distraught parent said.

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Mr Connolly is critical of the manner in which the ESB have kept the public updated: “The message from ESB keeps changing. They initially said it was going to be back at 12 noon on Tuesday, but now they say it won't be back until 5pm. I'm signed up to the app, which means they update me via email of changes, but there has been no direct contact. I feel sorry for older people who don't have the app.”

The Connolly family have relied on relations to charge their phones. The infants are distressed by the ordeal: “The kids don't understand why there are no lights. We are using the lights on our phones, but that is running down the battery. Even today we have to pack the kids up and bring them to relatives, because it's impractical to stay in the house.”

PICTURES | Longford woman has miraculous escape as trees crash down on her home during Storm Debi

Mr Connolly says uncertainty was a major issue: “The goal posts keep changing. We appreciate it's uncertain times, but there should be clarity. We are told it will be back today, but we don't know if that will be changed.”

Businesses across the county were also counting the cost of the disruption. In Clondra McPartland's public house, who do a brisk food trade during the week, have had to inform customers via social media that they are unable to open because of the disruption to their electricity supply.

Schools in Ballymahon, Granard and Ardagh were closed on both Monday and Tuesday as result of Storm Debi while in Killoe, a woman endured a miraculous escape as trees came crashing down on her property in the early hours of Monday morning.

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