Around 80,000 homes and businesses without power due to Storm Debi

Humanitarian assistance is to be offered to businesses and families in Co Galway affected by the storm, the Irish Times has reported.

Around 80,000 homes and businesses are without power as Storm Debi moves northeast across the country, with Galway looking to be one of the worst counties hit. Currently, a Status Yellow wind and rain warning for Ireland is in operation until 3pm. The earlier Status Red wind warnings for east Galway, Roscommon, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary, Clare, Dublin, Kildare, Laois, Louth, Meath, Wicklow, Offaly and Westmeath have expired. Met Éireann has warned of a “potential danger to life” due to powerful wind gusts, while schools and preschools in 20 counties didn't open til 10am this morning. Employers were also asked to facilitate working from home where possible, with people advised to keep their phones fully charged incase they need to contact the emergency services. The highest gust recorded so far was 119km/h in Knock, Co Mayo, RTÉ News reported.

? Here we go again. Flooding caused by yet another named storm aka #StormDebi. This is in #Galway in #Ireland last night.....pic.twitter.com/qNYavxbktV

— Volcaholic ? (@volcaholic1) November 13, 2023

In a statement this shared by the publication, the ESB said that storm force winds associated with Storm Debi has caused "considerable damage to the electricity network overnight, predominantly in the west, midwest, midlands and northeast". The damage is largely due to lightning and fallen trees affecting overhead lines.

#StormDebi continues to track northeastwards over the country. Severe & damaging wind gusts will continue for a time leading to disruption⚠️ Warning ➡️https://t.co/nXGhrFJMwc Heavy rain will become confined to Ulster during the morning with sunny spells & showers following. ?️ pic.twitter.com/vbodhiBlQ9

— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) November 13, 2023

As reported by The Irish Times, the Minister for Social Protection, Heather Humphreys, has confirmed the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme is available to provide support to residents directly affected by flooding as a result of the storm in Co. Galway. The scheme provides income-tested financial support to people whose homes are damaged from flooding and severe weather events - available supports are as follows:

• €30,000 to €50,000 for a single person
• €50,000 to €90,000 for a couple
• €10,000 to €15,000 per dependant child

Storm Debi is the fourth named storm of the season, and marks the earliest point in a storm season the letter D has been reached in the alphabet. As reported by the Times, before 2023, the earliest month in which the letter D had been reached was December, which happened in 2015 (Desmond), 2017 (Dylan) and 2018 (Deirdre). Header images via Met Éireann / Getty  READ NEXT:  - 'Hawaii of Europe' is just a 4 hour flight from Ireland and has year-long summers - Tornado warning issued for the UK as Storm Debi brings 160kmph winds - Laois' most unfortunate signpost has sadly been changed