Irish brace as Ophelia set to slam coast

epa06269037 The calm before the storm in a graveyard County Clare along the Atlantic Seabord, in Ireland, 16 October 2017. The Irish Meteorological Service Met Eireann has issued a red alert weather warning nationwide as tropical depression Ophelia is due to hit Ireland on 16 October. Counties Galway, Mayo, Sligo and Donegal are set to be worst hit by Ophelia. Public services as transport, schools, creches, colleges, retailers, court services, pharmacies, outpatient clinics have all shut down and more than 140 flights have been cancelled.  EPA-EFE/AIDAN CRAWLEY

Bloomberg

Irish authorities warned some of the worst weather conditions to hit the country in 50 years will endanger lives, as Storm Ophelia’s remnants batter the coast with “extreme” conditions.
Met Eireann, the nation’s weather service, extended its most severe warning nationwide for the first time ever, with Ophelia expected to bring winds in excess of 80 kilometres an hour to parts of western Ireland, with some of the strongest gusts rising above 150 kilometers an hour.
Banks closed branches, dealing rooms limited trading and airlines cancelled flights, with the storm set to slam the south of the country from about 10 a.m., hit Dublin at about 1 pm and gradually spreading northwards before clearing tonight. Power lines are already down in some parts of the country, according to broadcaster RTE.
“This has the potential to be life threatening,” Sean Hogan, chairman of the government’s emergency planning group, said. “We are have a lot of experience of storms, but there is something different about this. ”
Ophelia is expected to bring gale-force winds to southern Ireland by early Monday and hurricane-force winds by the afternoon. Schools will remain closed, bus services have been disrupted and coastal areas are preparing for flooding.

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