A FORMER fisherman has described how his Union Hall house was wrecked by what he called a ‘mini-tornado’ on Sunday evening.

Paul Deasy (74) was at home when strong winds hit his bungalow just after 10.30pm on Sunday. The weather event caused damage to the roof and insulation, knocked down a wooden fence and tore the roof off his garden shed.

He said: ‘There was a very strong gust of wind and a loud noise. The ceiling came down and there was a lot of damage to the outside of the house as well.

‘It was like a mini-tornado had struck it. I felt it. The place was a pure mess. The house next door was also damaged.’

Paul has lived in his house for 40 years and worked as a fisherman for more than 50 years. He added: ‘I’ve never experienced anything like this. It only lasted for about a minute.’

While most of West Cork experienced a sudden and strong thunder storm on Sunday evening, the weather station at Ringaskiddy recorded sudden strong winds.

Weather experts are of the mind that it was probably a downburst rather than a tornado – but there were widespread reports of roof tiles being ripped off houses and damage to outside structures.

Paul said he had reported the damage to his insurer and was waiting to hear back about his claim. He added: ‘It’ll take three months until this gets fixed. It’ll be hard to get workers at this time of year.’

The storm damage came just 24 hours before Met Éireann issued a status Orange wind warning for Cork, south Kerry, south Tipperary and Waterford.

Ahead of Storm Bram making land, Met Éireann warned on Sunday: ‘Southerly winds ahead of the system will strengthen on Monday night, with periods of severe wind gusts possible, especially near exposed Atlantic coasts.

‘The strong winds will continue through Tuesday, veering southwest to west in direction during the day. Heavy rainfall late Monday into Tuesday morning will fall over ground that is already water-logged, increasing runoff and river response times.’

The storm brought power cuts, flooding and travel chaos with 25,000 homes and businesses nationwide left without power overnight on Tuesday – mainly in Cork, Tipperary, Wexford, Limerick and Kildare.

Winds reached 113km/h at Roches Point in Cork, and crews had to clear fallen trees from a number of routes across West Cork.

A number of flights were cancelled at Cork Airport while ferry sailings were also affected.