Work is under way to restore power to almost 194,000 homes and businesses after Storm Ellen swept across the country.
The storm lashed many parts of Ireland with high winds, leaving a path of destruction, particularly in coastal areas.
Many properties were affected in Co Cork which was issued a red status warning on Wednesday ahead of the storm.
Other areas impacted by power cuts include Limerick, Longford, Wexford and Tipperary.
There have been reports of flooding and fallen trees across parts of Cork and Clonmel.
This shouldn’t be happening in Skibbereen.Millions spent on flood protection.The entire town should be dry even in this intense rainfall. Part of me is not surprised. The flood committee flagged that this area needed more protection.OPW need to provide answers. #StormEllen pic.twitter.com/pPr061LOz9
— Christopher O’Sullivan TD (@COSullivanTD) August 19, 2020
Images posted on social media show trees strewn across busy roads and in people’s gardens.
Derek Hynes, ESB Networks operations manager, said staff are working to help homes and businesses impacted by power cuts.
“Our control centres have been restoring power to some of the larger faults on the network,” he told RTE Morning Ireland.
“We’re getting more data and information from our customers and also from our crews. The first wave of our crews across the country were dispatched out to those fault locations at abut 7am.
“We now have about 900 fault locations. So as the public go about their business today they are contacting our customer care centre and we’re able to get better information.
“We’re looking at about 900 fault locations. The numbers are dropping so things are looking positive in the first hour of restoration.
“The weather is relatively OK.”
He said the number may change throughout the day.
“We know all the big faults right now, we have a good handle on where there are large number of people without power, but if anybody is waking up and they realise that they don’t have any power in their house, we need them to call us,” he added.
“We really feel for all the families and businesses going through the last number of months of lockdown and Covid restrictions and now waking up today without power, without broadband and making communication really difficult.
“So we’re asking everybody to stay safe by staying clear and ring us with any information.”
The ferocity and speed that our yard filled was frightening, hugely disappointing to see, so much money spent on a flood relief scheme and have to fight to keep water out of your property. #StormEllen pic.twitter.com/sKw2DdzlTZ
— ALBANY FUSION HOME (@FUSION_HOME) August 20, 2020
He also urged people to stay away from fallen power lines.
Images posted to social media showed flooding overnight in Skibbereen, Co Cork, where expensive flood defences had been installed in recent years.
One business, Fusion Home Interiors, said its car park had been flooded, tweeting: “The ferocity and speed that our yard filled was frightening, hugely disappointing to see, so much money spent on a flood relief scheme and have to fight to keep water out of your property.
“We would like to say a huge thanks to Skibbereen Fire Brigade and Skibbereen Civil Defence, along with all our staff who worked tirelessly to keep the water out of our shop, we will be forever grateful.”
Cork South West TD Christopher O’Sullivan tweeted: “This shouldn’t be happening in Skibbereen. Millions spent on flood protection. The entire town should be dry even in this intense rainfall. Part of me is not surprised. The flood committee flagged that this area needed more protection.”
He added that the Office of Public Works “need to provide answers”.
