The two to three hours it took yesterday’s storm to sweep through Kerry left a trail of destruction seldom seen in the county, including damaged buildings, transport disruption, toppled trees and power failures.
The floods of recent weeks were mainly confined to coastal areas, but all areas of the county were affected yesterday.
Power was knocked out in thousands of homes. The power outages affected water treatment plants, and boil water warnings were issued last night to residents in a dozen towns from Kenmare to Rathmore.
Debris on roads
Travel was difficult, with many roads blocked by fallen trees and other debris. Some landline and mobile telephone services went down.
Large buildings were damaged in several towns. A nursing home was evacuated last night in the centre of Killarney after its roof was damaged when part of a nearby building fell on it.
In Tralee, the roof of the Brandon Hotel was swept across Prince’s Street and into the car park of the Siamsa Tíre folk theatre. Slates were blown off buildings in Castlegregory and Killorglin, and a trail of debris was left in most villages and along many roadsides.
Kerry County Council spokesman Padraig Corkery appealed to people to stay indoors and keep off the roads and streets. However, with 50,000 homes without electricity, many people were cut off from radio broadcasts of the warnings.
Communities near Killarney National Park were cut off after winds blew down hundreds of trees in a sweeping arc at about 12.30pm when the storm was at its peak.
Trucks blown over
Trucks were blown over in Camp and Ventry in west Kerry. The N86 was closed, as was the N69 near Listowel after trees fell on power lines.
Bus, ferry, air and even taxi services had to be cancelled. A flight from London Stansted with 80 passengers on board made two attempts to land at Kerry Airport near Killarney at 2pm, but could not do so because of cross-winds. It had to be diverted to Dublin.
“In all my life, I have never seen anything like it,” said one 55-year-old man who has lived for 30 years at Mangerton in Muckross, near Killarney. “The scene is just incredible and it all happened so fast.”
There were 190 calls to the fire service in Kerry for assistance throughout the day.