SCHOOLS across Limerick city and county will be shut temporarily tomorrow morning (Monday) as Storm Debi is set to tear across the country.
This comes on health and safety advice from director general of the National Directorate for Emergency and Fire Management, Keith Leonard, in advance of a storm which Met Éireann has said poses a “threat to human life”.
Under the latest advice, schools in the 19 counties impacted by the Status Red and Orange have been warned to shut until at least 10am tomorrow morning.
“On the balance of risk and to ensure public safety all schools and preschools, are being asked to delay opening in orange and red counties until 10am tomorrow. School managers at local level will advise parents of any disruption to school services,” Mr Leonard said.
Decisions to shut past the 10am advisory time will be made on a local level, with schools to contact parents and guardians with complete information in due course.
The advice comes after a meeting of the National Emergency Coordination Group today, with Met Éireann, the OPW, the local authorities, principal response agencies, key government departments, and responding national organisations aimed to lay down preparations for Storm Debi, which is expected to impact Ireland from the early hours of Monday.
Met Éireann advised that a Status Red Wind warning has been issued for Clare, Galway, Roscommon, Westmeath, and Offaly tomorrow, while Status Orange wind warnings have been issued for Limerick, Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Longford, Louth, Meath, Wicklow, Kerry, and Tipperary.
The warning in Limerick will be in place from 2am until 12pm.
Severe and damaging gusts are expected on Sunday night and Monday due to Storm Debi. Potential impacts include damage to exposed and vulnerable structures, dangerous travelling conditions, fallen green, localised flooding and wave overtopping, disruption to services, and damage to power lines.
With some power outages expected, the ESB have reminded users that up-to-date information on outages and restoration times can be gotten on PowerCheck.ie.
