Council makes plans for ‘extreme weather events’
It is expected that Ireland will experience more severe weather events in the coming years. Photo: iStock
Climate change, once a distant nightmare, is now a current reality.
Waterford City and County Council announced at a meeting earlier this month that they will be creating safehouses in rural areas of the county in preparation for natural disasters such as storms and flooding.
Waterford City and Council Director of Services in relation to roads and environment, Gabriel Hynes, said: “Given the number of severe weather events we’re getting, we want to be ready as much as possible.”
According to Mr Hynes, the Department of Rural Development will launch an initiative where they will provide each local authority with several generators.
The generators would then be deployed during the severe weather event to rural communities where there is a power outage.
“This would allow a community centre in that area to be used as a community hub during the event where the community would manage and co-ordinate essential services.”
“It would be a place where people could go to charge their phone. There’d be showers, heating and so on and so forth.”
They will issue expressions of interest through the Public Participation Network (PPN). Community centres can come forward that are interested in acting as their community hub. Centres must be geographically well located, capable of accommodating the community during the event.
The Council will take guidance from the ESB on which areas in Waterford experience long power outages. Waterford City and Dungarvan town for example, would not require this service.
The suggestion was well received by councillors.
Councillor John Hearne said: “This is very welcome”
Councillor Donnacha Mulcahy said: “I think it’s a great idea, fair play to you and your team.”
Councillor Niamh O’Donovan expressed support for the initiative and asked if it would be rolled out this winter or next winter.
One Councillor asked if the generators would be run on diesel to which the mayor responded: “Well they can’t be electric.”
