Storm Eowyn exposed vulnerabilities say Mayo council officials
A public seating area at Market Square in Castlebar left in pieces after the storm. Council officials say a series of lessons needed to be learned following the devastation caused by Storm Eowyn.
The Castlebar Municipal District office dealt with in excess of 250 calls during Storm Eowyn.
David Mellett, Head of Castlebar Municipal District, said the storm exposed vulnerabilities and lessons will be learned.
Mr Mellett said calls from the public in relation to damage or other issues were either actions or directed to the appropriate people.
He said the council worked alongside the Civil Defence to get an oxygen tank to a vulnerable person.
The outdoor team in the District carried out clean-up works at more than 200 locations in the area. Mr Mellett warned that there remains months of work ahead.
The Lough Lannagh leisure facility has been made available for people who need to get showers or charge mobile devices. More than 140 people availed of that service last week. Mayo County Library also provided charging facilities. “That’s been extremely busy as well,” said Mr Mellett.
“This was a record breaking weather event which caused unprecedented damage,” said Mr Mellett.
He said we have to try and adapt to our changing climate.
“There are definitely lessons to be learned. An event of this scale highlights where our vulnerabilities are,” Mr Mellett commented.
He said there will need to be a conversation around the issue of trees.
“Some of these events are so severe that no matter what adaptation work you do there is going to be an impact bur we have to prepare for how we deal with those impacts,” said Mr Mellett.
Director of Services, John Condon said a lot of the systems that failed are systems provided by utlilities companies. “If there is a review of what happened they need rto increase their resilience.”
