Storm Bert live updates: Red and orange warnings in effect as 60,000 homes and businesses without power

• Status red warnings are in place in both Cork and Galway this morning as Storm Bert makes its way across Ireland.
• The “complex storm” is not confined to just Cork and Galway, however, with counties stretching from Waterford up to Donegal to be hit by heavy rain and winds.
• A status orange rain warning came into force at midnight covering counties Waterford, Kerry, Clare, Mayo, Sligo and Leitrim.
• A status yellow alert issued for Leinster, Munster, Connacht, Cavan and Monaghan warned of very strong southeast to south winds coupled with heavy rain as a result of the storm.

As Met Éireann forecasts the storm to remain the dominant feature of the weather over the weekend, ESB Networks said the numbers of premises without power had reached 60,000 and “further power outages can be expected”.

The ESB said its teams were closely monitoring the storm’s  impact on power supplies and “all available resources remain on alert”.

Flooding is becoming a significant problem along the west coast this morning as damage brought by Storm Bert is assessed.

The river Feale in Abbeyfeale, Co Limerick, has overflowed its banks. Emergency crews are responding.

There are also fears the river Galey between Newcastle West, Co Limerick and Listowel, Co Kerry, will burst its banks as heavy rain continues.

In Clifden, Co Galway, surface water is becoming a hazard to motorists. Bus Éireann has cancelled services on Route 434 between Clifden and Westport.

In Killybegs, Co Donegal, the town has been flooded with up to two feet of water reported in the streets. It is understood a fallen tree blocked a local river which diverted into the town. Emergency services are at the scene but significant damage to homes and property is expected.

Across Co Galway local authority grass playing pitches have been closed. The Galway city interagency emergency group is bracing for flooding in areas across the city. Local authority crews are monitoring the situation as high waves batter the coastline.

Barry Roche in Cork reports: It appears that Cork city has escaped flooding with gardaí at Anglesea Street reporting that they had received no reports of any flooding from either the city centre, or its suburbs and satellites such as Glanmire and Carrigaline which have been hit badly in the past.

Cork City Council had issued a statement earlier, saying that based on information from Met Éireann, there was no tidal flooding expected in Cork city and that Storm Bert was a pluvial or rainfall event that may lead to just localised spot flooding.

Meanwhile, ESB Networks reported a number of outages in both Cork and Kerry due high winds bringing down trees on power lines. Carrigaline was among the worst affected, where almost 2,500 customers were without power for several hours with 152 still awaiting restoration this morning.

Further west, some 1,300 customers in Rathmore, in Co Kerry, lost power around 6am but it is expected they will have power restored by midday. On the Iveragh Peninsula in South Kerry, some 2,500 customers around Cahersiveen and Waterville lost power at different stages.

A photo here from Carlow Weather shows flooding in the Killybegs area of Donegal with emergency services at the scene.

Some 60,000 homes and businesses are without power this morning after Storm Bert brought heavy winds and rainfall overnight.

Affected counties where large areas have lost power include Donegal Mayo, Galway, Sligo, Cork and Clare.

In Donegal some 12,000 people are currently without electricity with the worst of the outages in exposed areas near Gaoth Dobhair and Buncrana.

In Cahersiveen, Co Kerry, 6,813 premises are without power.

About 7,000 households and businesses Sligo, Leitrim and Roscommon have been left without power, with many additionally damaged by localised flooding

ESB spokesperson Paul Hand said crews and contractors are responding where safe to do so. Mr Hand said the next update on numbers of homes and businesses affected would be available in about an hour.

Estimated restoration times are being posted on www.PowerCheck.ie and www.ESBNetworks.ie as restoration work progresses. The authority said any damage to network should be reported by calling 1800 372 999.

Rain and snow warnings cover Northern Ireland from midnight on Friday until 11am on Saturday. P&O Ferries said it had cancelled the 4am sailing between Larne in Northern Ireland and Cairnryan in Scotland’s south west on Saturday.

Barry Roche in Cork reports: Business people and homeowners in Bantry in West Cork were this morning breathing a sigh of relief as the town escaped flooding, amid fears that heavy rainfall from Storm Bert might bring a repeat of last month’s inundation which saw over 40 houses and shops flooded.

Met Eireann had issued a status red red rain warning for Cork and Galway with West Cork braced for the worst of the weather but this morning at 7am, gardai in Bantry were reporting that there was no major flooding anywhere in the town other than minor surface flooding on some roads.

Gardai in Bandon, Clonakilty and Skibbereen similarly reported that all three towns – each the beneficiary of significant investment by the Office of Public Works (OPW) in flood relief schemes in recent years – had again not suffered any flooding other than some surface water on roads.

However, Cork Safety Alerts was reporting that there was flooding on the main Cork to Bantry road, R586 at Ballineen while there was also flooding on the Bantry Line, the R587 at Ardcahan north of Dunmanway and both roads were impassable.

In East Cork where Midleton, like Bantry, is still awaiting a major OPW flood relief scheme and both homeowners and businesspeople are constantly on high alert for any Met Éireann rain warnings after Storm Babet caused millions of euros worth of damage in October 2023.

On Saturday morning, gardaí in Midleton at 7.15am, had received no reports of any flooding in the town or in any of the surrounding villages such as Ladysbridge, Mogeely, Whitegate, Castlemartyr and Killeagh where dozens of properties were damaged in Storm Babet.

As of 7am on Saturday morning it seemed that Cork county had escaped any major flooding with Mallow and Fermoy, thanks to OPW flood defence systems, avoiding a return to the inundation that was a perennial feature of both towns when the Blackwater burst its banks.

There was some surface road flooding on low lying roads and around Mallow, and Cork County Council did post that some local roads off the main Mallow- Killarney road (the N72), were closed at Spa Glen, Ballylough Cross and Parkadallane.

The council was forced to announce road closures at the Killavullen Road on the southern side of Mallow and at Longfields Bridge at Newberry west and upstream of the town due to rising water levels in the Blackwater.

Closer to Cork city, the operators of the Cross Ferry from Glenbrook to Carrigaloe, which links Cobh while Passage West and Monkstown, announced the cancellation of sailings this morning due to high winds.