Storm Eleanor causes flood damage on Ireland's west coast
A sunken boat is seen half submerged after Storm Eleanor in Galway Bay, Ireland, January 3, 2018. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
GALWAY (Reuters) - Homes and business on Ireland's west coast suffered flood damage and 27,000 were still without electricity on Wednesday after Storm Eleanor brought heavy rain and winds of up to 155 kilometers per hour.
The storm hit Ireland's fourth largest city, Galway, particularly hard as high tides late on Tuesday forced road closures and wreaked havoc for shop owners.
Ireland's Electricity Supply Board (ESB) said at one stage on Tuesday 150,000 homes and business were without electricity.
County Council workers leave sand bags out in the street for locals to take for flood protection against a high tide later in Galway, Ireland January 3, 2018. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
"We're really hopeful, given that it's the last week of a lot of people's Christmas holidays, that we will have power back to pretty much everybody by tonight," Derek Hynes, Operations Manager for ESB, told national broadcaster RTE.
The weather service's second highest level of alert remained in place for the west and northwest of the country. Met Eireann said a combination of high tides and exceptionally high seas would result in coastal damage and further flooding.
Three people died in October when Tropical Storm Ophelia battered every corner of Ireland, bringing down trees and power lines and whipping up 10-meter (30-foot) waves.
A warning sign for high winds is seen on the motorway in Dublin, Ireland January 3, 2018. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
(Writing by Padraic Halpin in Dublin; editing by Stephen Addison)
Cars are seen in a flooded multi-storey car park as flood waters reached up to 1.5 meters and destroyed multiple cars, in Galway, Ireland January 3, 2018. REUTERS/Clodagh KilcoyneA boat is stranded on the edge of a pier after it was washed there by floods in Galway, Ireland, January 3, 2018. REUTERS/Clodagh KilcoyneSand bags are seen in a doorway as flood protection against a high tide later in Galway, Ireland January 3, 2018. REUTERS/Clodagh KilcoyneCars are seen in a flooded multi-storey car park after flood waters reached up to 1.5 meters and destroyed multiple cars, in Galway, Ireland January 3, 2018. REUTERS/Clodagh KilcoynePeople take a picture at the entrance of a flooded multi-storey car park in Galway, Ireland January 3, 2018. REUTERS/Clodagh KilcoyneWater floods street next to dock in Galway, Ireland, in this still image taken from a video from January 2, 2018. Mandatory credit. Martin McDonagh via REUTERSFlood water is seen at a doorway in a multi-storEy car park as flood waters reached up to 1.5 meters and destroyed multiple cars, in Galway, Ireland January 3, 2018. REUTERS/Clodagh KilcoynePeople view large waves and high winds associated with Storm Eleanor as they hit the lighthouse and seawall at Porthcawl in south Wales, Britain January 3, 2018. REUTERS/Toby Melville TPX IMAGES OF THE DAYWater floods street next to dock in Galway, Ireland, in this still image taken from a video from January 2, 2018. Mandatory credit. Martin McDonagh via REUTERS A walker watch the waves breaking in New Brighton, on the coast of the Wirral peninsula, in Merseyside, Britain, January 3, 2018. REUTERS/Phil NobleWater floods street next to dock in Galway, Ireland, in this still image taken from a video from January 2, 2018. Mandatory credit. Martin McDonagh via REUTERSA walker takes a photo of the sea in New Brighton, on the coast of the Wirral Peninsula, in Merseyside, Britain January 3, 2018. REUTERS/Phil NoblePeople view large waves and high winds associated with Storm Eleanor as they hit the lighthouse and seawall at Porthcawl in south Wales, Britain January 3, 2018. REUTERS/Toby MelvilleAs Storm Eleanor batters parts of Britain and Ireland, people arrive for work in the financial district of London, Britain, January 3, 2018. REUTERS/Simon DawsonPeople view large waves and high winds associated with Storm Eleanor as they hit the lighthouse and seawall at Porthcawl in south Wales, Britain January 3, 2018. REUTERS/Toby MelvilleA car drives along a flooded road in New Brighton, on the coast of the Wirral peninsula, in Merseyside, Britain, January 3, 2018. REUTERS/Phil Noble
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