Following Ireland’s appeal for help with power outages caused by record-breaking storm Eowyn, the EU’s civil defence mechanism was activated. The EU immediately mobilised 13 power generators from the Commission’s own strategic reserve, rescEU, located in Poland. Four power generators provided by Denmark through the Mechanism will also reach Ireland soon and will help provide electricity locally.
The EU has also activated the Copernicus emergency management service and provided analytical support to national authorities.
The EU Emergency Response Coordination Centre continues to monitor the situation closely and is in constant contact with the national authorities, ensuring that additional assistance is provided promptly if needed.
Preparedness, Crisis Management and Equality Commissioner Hadja Lahbib said:
“Extreme weather events, like storm Eowyn, increasingly put Europe’s disaster resilience to the test. But they also demonstrate the growing strength of our joint preparedness and solidarity efforts. Our thoughts are with all those affected and with the first responders in Ireland who are doing their best to bring life back to normal. I thank Denmark for their prompt offer of assistance, and Poland for their excellent collaboration in hosting and delivering the rescEU power generators to Ireland. We are in this together.”
Storm Eowyn, with winds of record strength, hit Ireland last week, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without power and tens of thousands of users without mobile phones, causing major disruption to public transport.
The Republic’s meteorological service said it recorded wind gusts of 183 kilometres per hour in County Galway. This broke the record set in 1945 (182 kilometres per hour). The average wind speed was also a record 135 kilometres per hour.
According to the energy operator ESB Networks, the breakage of power lines has left 560,000 people without light. In neighbouring Northern Ireland, 93 thousand people have no electricity.
The disaster also led to the closure of airports – do not take and do not send flights airports Dublin and Shannon in Ireland, as well as Edinburgh and Glasgow in Scotland. A number of train companies in Ireland and the UK have advised against using their services as trains may be running with major disruptions.
A red alert level has been declared for Friday across Ireland, as well as Northern Ireland, parts of Scotland. People are advised to stay indoors.
