Work under way on better storm response after Éowyn

Updated / Friday, 26 Dec 2025 09:34 The gable end of the Egan family home in Ballinasloe was damaged during Storm Éowyn Conor Hunt By Conor Hunt The head of the Government's emergency management group has said that lessons have been learned on how best to respond to severe weather events in the wake of Storm Éowyn. The system caused significant damage and disruption last January. At one point, 750,000 customers were without power. There were extensive internet and water outages as communities, particularly isolated ones, struggled to reconnect. National Director for Fire and Emergency Management Keith Leonard acknowledged that the storm and its aftermath were a difficult period for many households. "I think that's one of the key takeaways ... particularly for vulnerable people, elderly people, people who live alone, who are out without electricity for a long time. "Our local authorities have done a huge amount of work in the last six months to try and address how we support people who find themselves in those situations." As part of that work, around 400 hubs have been identified across the country that can be used for communities in the event of another big storm. "The idea is, if a big event, like an Éowyn hits again, people can go there, and there'll be a generator on site ... and you will have the availability of hot meals, showers, charging facilities, and also a place where people can get information on what's happening in the response," Mr Leonard said. "There are lessons identified from Storm Éowyn. "I think one of the key things is critical infrastructure, which is effectively our water, our electricity, our communications, and our essential services across the country. "They were badly impacted, and definitely building out for the future, building resilience into those systems is a key lesson. "ESB Networks have put a winter plan in place ... and they're also looking at the trees that impact across the networks. "They're going to work with forestry, with agriculture, with local authorities to try and make sure that trees that may cause vulnerabilities are dealt with over the next number of years. "That work is already under way. Emma Egan said that she will not easily forget the night that Storm Éowyn hit "Nothing prepares you for the side of your house falling off," said Emma Egan, from Ballinasloe in Co Galway, recounting the early hours when Éowyn hit . "I remember thinking 'what's the number you ring when your house falls off?' because there's a number for fire, and there's a number for all these things, but what's the number when your house falls off, there is none, like, there's no number," she said. Almost 12 months after the storm hit, the memories remain vivid, Emma said, and it will be a night that she will not easily forget. Her husband, Shane, was in England with their eldest boy to attend a Manchester United match - a Christmas present - and she and their two...

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