Power outages and rivers overflowing with orange warning in place for four counties

Power outages have been reported across the south and east of Ireland today, with four counties to remain under a status orange weather alert until midnight.
About 4,500 homes were without power on Sunday evening with crews from ESB Networks working to re-establish connections in several counties.
An ESB Networks spokeswoman said the scale of disruption has been “relatively modest” and in line with previous status orange rain and status yellow wind warnings.
The status orange warning, Met Éireann’s second-highest alert level, is in place for counties Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford and Waterford with some intense and thundery downpours reported.
High winds and heavy showers are continuing across the impacted areas, with over 50mm of rain recorded in parts of Cork – and more on the way for the south and southeast.
Rivers burst their banks in Co Waterford, with videos on social media showing the river Colligan and river Nire at very high levels. Alan O’Reilly of Carlow Weather said on X that the “river has burst banks her in the Nire valley, Co Waterford. Roads are now impassable in the area.”
Close to 1,000 homes in the Kilmacthomas and Kilmeaden areas were without power on Sunday afternoon. More than twice that number experienced outages earlier on Sunday before having their electricity restored by ESB Networks.
A boat appeared to have broken from its moorings and run aground near Dunmore East in Co Waterford.
Met Éireann has warned of possible flooding, dangerous driving conditions and travel disruption across the south of the country.
In addition to the orange alerts, a status yellow rain warning was issued for Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford, until 8pm..
The forecaster said weather could lead to localised flooding, difficult travel conditions and fallen branches or trees in some areas.
Business owners and householders in Cork city centre were bracing themselves for possible flooding.
Cork City Council has advised road users, including cyclists and pedestrians, to proceed with caution and they have asked people around the city to secure any loose items such as wheelie bins and garden furniture due to the risk from high winds.
By Sunday afternoon, there had yet to be any reports of major flooding incidents in Cork city, while Cork county including Midleton – which was badly flooded in Storm Babet in October 2023 – appears to have escaped any major flooding even though there are some trees down in the county.
Waterford City and County Council said surface water levels would be elevated in the county on Sunday due to high accumulations of rainfall over a six- to 12-hour period.
“Impacts are likely to include localised flooding from urban and fast-responding, smaller watercourses/catchments, drains, channels and flooding from overland flow,” it said.
“Ground crews are on standby to deal with any issues that may arise, such as localised flooding, blocked drains, gully overflows, etc.”
The council advised the public to exercise caution, heed public safety advice and avoid unnecessary journeys as driving conditions may be hazardous, with surface water flooding expected.
The Road Safety Authority also advised people taking to the roads to take care on Sunday and Monday, with those in areas under orange warnings recommended to check local traffic and weather conditions before departing.
A small craft warning for all Irish coasts is also in effect until 4am on Monday while status yellow marine gale warnings have been issued for all coasts where southeast winds will reach gale force 8 or 9 up to midnight on Sunday.
Rain will become light and patchy over Sunday night with mainly dry conditions developing for a time before further outbreaks of rain will move into the west and northwest.
Monday will be mostly cloudy with outbreaks of rain and drizzle at first. Brighter conditions and showers will extend from the southwest through the afternoon, with some of the showers possibly heavy.