'Blessed' no one was injured after Storm Ellen blows roof off Clonmel building
The owner of a business badly damaged in County Tipperary says they are relieved no one was injured as Storm Ellen passed through the country.
The roof was blown off the Regal Centre in Clonmel which houses O'Keeffe Furniture.
Mary O'Keeffe said that despite the damage they were just thankful no one was injured.
“We’re truly blessed, and just so relieved that nobody was injured in the whole course of the last 12, 14, 16 hours,” said Ms O’Keeffe.
“There’s significant damage, but for us as a family and business, that not was injured…that’s just first and foremost the most important thing.”
Ms O’Keeffe told RTÉ that "high winds caught a part of the roof and then just section by section lifted it”.
Around the country, more than 100,000 homes and business are without power after Storm Ellen swept across the country.
Power has already been restored to around 90,000 homes and businesses since this morning.
While crews continue to work into the night to repair damage caused by Storm Ellen, it is expected that "significant numbers" of customers will be without power overnight.
The storm has caused widespread damage with Cork, Tipperary, Sligo, Westmeath, Longford, Galway, Roscommon and Leitrim the worst impacted.
Meanwhile, there have been calls for an investigation into why part of a West Cork town flooded during Storm Ellen last night despite a near €18m investment in flood defences.
Fianna Fáil TD Christopher O’Sullivan said the people of Skibbereen deserve answers as communities begin assessing the full extent of the storm damage.
As forecast, Cork bore the brunt of the storm, with gusts of 115kph recorded at Roches Point, 104kph at Sherkin Island and 100kph at Cork Airport.
But in Skibbereen, several homes and businesses on Bridge St were hit by the flooding. Members of Cork County Fire Service pumped water from the area, which was cleared before midnight.
Today, Met Éireann has issued a status yellow rainfall warning for the entire country.
The warning came into effect at 9am and is valid until 5am on Friday.
They say that “heavy squally downpours and thunderstorms will bring a risk of spot flooding at times today and tonight”.
A status yellow wind warning has also been issued for Dublin, Louth, Wexford, Wicklow, Meath, Cork, Kerry and Waterford.
It comes into effect at 5pm and will be in place until 5am tomorrow.
Met Éireann has warned that there will be “very strong south to southeast winds” that will veer “southwesterly overnight with the potential for further impacts and a continued risk of coastal flooding”.