As Storm Darragh approaches, Galway City Council has put out sandbags and closed car parks along the coastal front from Salthill to Ballyloughane near Renmore.
The car parks closed include Ballyloughane, Silver Strand, Toft Park and Salthill promenade.
Sandbags are available at Spanish Arch, the Fire station, Father Griffin Road and Seapoint, beside the Aquarium in Salthill, it says.
It warns of “dynamic road closures” in and around Galway for the duration of the storm.
The Met Éireann warning is for a Status Red wind warning for a number of counties, with extremely strong and gusty northwest winds.
The Red warning is valid for western counties till 2am Saturday, with an Orange warning valid till 10am Saturday.
Met Éireann is warning of fallen trees, damage to power lines, dangerous travelling conditions, structural damage to temporary structures and wave overtopping
As the operator of Ireland’s gas network, Gas Networks Ireland said it would like to reassure its 720,000 customers that it does not anticipate any disruption to gas supplies during Storm Darragh.
“Ireland’s gas network is one of the safest and most modern gas networks in the world and with the added security of its 14,664km of pipeline being underground it is unlikely to be impacted by adverse weather conditions,”it said.
“Irrespective of what weather alert is in place, Gas Networks Ireland emergency services continue to operate as normal. If you smell gas at home or on the street, please call 1800 20 50 50 immediately,”it said.
“During a power cut, gas supplies and your gas meter should continue to operate as normal,”it says, but “gas appliances, however, may be affected.
“Although they operate by burning gas, most gas appliances rely on mains electricity for items such as pumps, fans, electronic controls and so on, so in the event of a power outage they may not operate until the power is restored,”it says.
“When the power is restored, gas appliances should operate as normal, but some boilers may need to be reset,”it says.
“ This is normally something that can be done by the customer themselves at the boiler control panel and some boilers have the resetting instructions visible on the boiler,”it says.
“Never use an indoor cooking appliance to try and heat a room. If you’re lighting a fire in the grate, make sure your chimney has been swept and isn’t blocked and ensure the room is properly ventilated,”Gas Networks Ireland warns.
