School prefab roof spins 80m across road during Isha

WEST Cork endured a double battering following Storm Isha last Sunday and Storm Jocelyn just days later, with a school prefab roof among the casualties.

Hundreds of homes across West Cork suffered power outages last Sunday evening while fallen trees blocked many roads across the region, making road conditions hazardous as the country dealt with the stormy conditions.

ESB Networks reported outages in areas such as Bantry, Skibbereen, Kilcrohane, Eyeries, and Béal na Bláth. Many of the power stoppages were due to trees having fallen on overhead lines during the high winds.

All available ESB Networks crews worked to restore power for affected home owners. Storm Isha also affected water supplies, and Uisce Éireann stated that they had tackled supply interruptions to customers as a result of the impact of Storm Isha on water treatment infrastructure, with floods leading to poor raw water quality, or power outages.

In one incident in Bandon last Sunday, a large flat roof was blown off a prefab at Scoil Phádraig Naofa on Convent Hill. It is believed to have flown 80 metres across the road into a housing estate, damaging a car and blocking a road. Luckily, there were no injuries reported.

There were numerous reports of trees down and blocking roads across West Cork on Sunday, including the R587 Macroom road at Ardcahan Bridge near Dunmanway, which was closed until Monday.

During Storm Jocelyn on Tuesday, there were still reports of fallen trees on several roads, including the Kinsale to Cork Airport road, as the county battled high winds from late afternoon onwards.