By Diarmaid Doherty
STRONG winds and heavy rain battered most parts of Donegal yesterday and homes and businesses were without power as Storm Ashley bared its teeth across the North West from early in the day.
There was heavy flooding on many roads and fallen trees and branches across a number of routes ensured that driving conditions were extremely hazardous for most of yesterday.
Met Éireann had escalated Donegal to a status Orange Weather Warning over the weekend and the public were warned to exercise extreme caution.
After a relatively mild Sunday morning, the heavy winds began to pick up at around lunchtime yesterday.
Even at that stage, 100 customers were without power in the Creeslough area due to a fault.
That problem was rectified by ESB crews shortly before 1.30pm, but by that time, the strong winds had caused another fault in south Donegal, leaving almost 1,500 customers without power in the Ballyshannon area.
A separate fault in Dungloe left 96 customers without power while over 1,000 customers had no power in the Carndonagh area.
Donegal County Council activated their Severe Weather Assessment Team on Saturday and the local authority said all council resources were at a heightened state of readiness ahead of Sunday’s storms.
Sandbags were deployed at a number of locations at risk of flooding and the council urged road users to minimise their journeys and to be aware of road conditions if travelling.
The Pier Car Park in Donegal Town was closed for several hours over the weekend and will remain closed again this morning due to the storm surge predicted.
A number of sports fixtures and community events were also cancelled.
Among the fixtures to be called off was yesterday’s eagerly awaited Ulster Ladies Senior Football Championship quarter-final meeting of Termon and St Macartans of Co. Tyrone.
The match, at the Burn Road, was called off just minutes before the start time.
Meanwhile, the 100% Redress Party in Donegal yesterday made an urgent appeal to the government to issue a storm protocol to help people living in homes affected by defective concrete.
The party said lives were being put at risk.
“As Donegal continues to suffer from defective concrete in homes and buildings across the county, the government’s neglect to implement a comprehensive safety and evacuation plan is putting lives at risk,” a party spokesperson said.
“The people of Donegal are enduring a humanitarian crisis, with thousands living in crumbling homes due to the defective concrete scandal.
“Now, faced with this dangerous storm, they are left without adequate protections or shelters.
“The 100% Redress Party is calling on the government to immediately adopt an emergency storm protocol for all affected residents. It is unacceptable that during such a perilous time, no plan has been put in place to offer refuge or support for those most vulnerable.
“We demand swift action to protect the people of Donegal, and that the government steps up to its responsibility to safeguard lives in the face of this compounded crisis.”
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