Storm Ashley left thousands without power in Limerick but damage kept to a minimum

THOUSANDS in Limerick city and county were without power on Sunday due to Storm Ashley with hundreds having to wait until Monday afternoon for the ESB to be restored.

However, damage from winds that gusted to over 130kmh was kept to a minimum in Limerick.

A Limerick City and County Council spokesperson said roads operation teams and crews had prepared for the storm by having flood defences erected in Limerick city, Foynes (in conjunction with the Port Authority) and Askeaton.

"Sand bags and standby pumps were checked and on stand by for deployment if required. There were no flooding issues reported," said the spokesperson.

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Thankfully Limerick City and County Council had relatively minor issues to deal with, they said.

"Tree limbs and branches fell onto roads and footpaths and there were a large amount of leaves that tended to drift.

"A number of sites with temporary harris fencing blew out onto streets and footpaths. A tree was down between Nicker National School and Old Pallas (pictured above). The road was closed at 2pm on Sunday. On Monday morning the tree was removed and the road reopened.

"A tree was down in Grange and the roads crews were able to clear it and reopen the road on Sunday. A number of light trees and branches were down in the Athea and Ardagh areas and these were all cleared on Sunday," said the council spokesperson.