Louth County Council respond to impact of Storm Betty

Louth County Council launched a dedicated response to the impact of Storm Betty throughout last weekend.

The second named storm of the season, Betty saw a ‘Yellow’ weather warning issued by Met Éireann for high winds and heavy rain in Louth.

Preparations began early on Friday last (August 18th) as council engineers monitored storm conditions and outdoor crews erected an immediate coastal flood defence barrier at Blackrock, and placed sand bags at strategic flood locations in Blackrock and in Drogheda by Friday evening.

Out of hours teams were on standby, as there was expected to be a need for a reactionary response to tree falls overnight, and crews prepared chainsaws and specially trained operators with all safety gear, along with trucks and heavy lifting machines in advance.

Louth County Council crews also alerted specialist tree surgeon contractors to the likely need for deployment on Friday night and Saturday, when it was deemed safe to do so.

As Storm Betty made landfall in Louth, outdoor crews responded to multiple reports of trees down across the county.

In total, there were 36 incidents of fallen trees and large branches blocking roads and footpaths in County Louth, during and in the aftermath of Storm Betty. Twelve trees were down in the Drogheda area, 9 in mid Louth and a further 15 in north Louth.

There were also several incidents of flooding and sewer lines blocked by storm debris, which were later cleared by council crews.

Staff worked tirelessly in very challenging conditions from 10pm on Friday night right through until 8pm the following day.

There were a number of temporary road closures when heavy lifting equipment and hydraulic powered machines were used to move the largest sized trees from obstructing roads.

Crews used chainsaws and, when required, were aided by tree surgeon contractors to clear the trees and large branches from roads both quickly and safely throughout the night and into Saturday.

Louth County Council Chief Executive Joan paid tribute to staff who responded to the impact of Storm Betty across the county.

“The sterling work of council staff and outdoor crews throughout last weekend was carried out in very difficult conditions.  But these efforts helped to ensure roads, footpaths and other vital services were cleared and safely returned to use.”

Storm Betty leads to trees down across Louth

Storm Betty council response

Trees down during Storm Betty

Council remove fallen trees during Storm Betty