Hurricane Charley: storm that travelled from the US to Ireland

How the tropical storm that formed off the coast of America flooded Dublin in 1986

Merrion Cricket Ground and surrounding areas in Dublin 4 under water in August 1986 after Hurricane Charley hit Ireland. Photograph: Jack McManus
Merrion Cricket Ground and surrounding areas in Dublin 4 under water in August 1986 after Hurricane Charley hit Ireland. Photograph: Jack McManus

Hurricane Charley's tropical storm phase began off the South Carolina coast on August 15th, 1986

Rain began to fall in Ireland at 9pm on the night of August 24th

In the hour between 9am and 10am on the 25th, some 12mm of rain fell on Cork city

It was raining steadily all over the country by noon

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Rainfall for the 24 hours was as high as 280mm in Kippure in the Dublin mountains – double the normal rainfall for that area for the entire month

Previous rainfall record: 184.2mm in Mount Merrion, Dublin on June 11th 1963

Number of people killed in Ireland: five

Buildings in Dublin flooded to depth of up to 2.4m (8ft)

Amount allocated by the government to fix damaged roads and bridges: £6,449,000

Insurance claims for damage to property by the rain storm: £25 million