Irish Red Cross on Standby for Storm Lorenzo

* All vehicles are being fully fuelled.
* Key holders have been identified.
* Vehicles are being moved to higher ground where flooding is anticipated.

The Irish Red Cross has officially put all of its units on standby ahead of Storm Lorenzo. Regional Director of Units in the South, Ted Noonan, is the designated national lead for the Irish Red Cross during this weather alert and he is overseeing all preparation activities. All vehicles are being fully fuelled, key holders have been identified and access to 4x4 vehicles has been prioritised. Vehicles are also being moved to higher ground where flooding is anticipated.

During Beast from the East and Storm Emma, the Irish Red Cross, completed a staggering 272 call-outs over the course of this severe weather event.

In preparation for Storm Lorenzo, Irish Red Cross units are also cooperating with welfare responses coordinated by the Irish Red Cross National Director of Health and Social Care, Aiden Lonergan. During Beast from the East and Storm Emma, Irish Red Cross health and social care volunteers provided a number of checks on older people in the community and delivered basic supplies as required. One incident saw volunteers provide a welfare check on a family who lost heating during the storm and worked with emergency services to move the family to a safe location. This kind of activity was replicated in many other parts of the country during this extreme weather event.

Ted Noonan, Irish Red Cross Regional Director of Units for the South today said; “We have over 140 vehicles across the country ready to act, upon request. During these types of weather events 4x4 ambulances prove extremely useful and we will deploy those first. The Irish Red Cross has substantial experience in dealing with the predicted conditions, most recently having provided significant assistance during Storm Ophelia.”

The Voluntary Emergency Services in the South (Cork and Kerry) are opening their resilience weather desks at 1pm today. These desks will be manned by volunteers and are in four locations – Tralee, Mallow, Cork city and Skibbereen.