With ex-Hurricane Ophelia raging outside, safety should be the first priority.

Cows that are out grazing seem content enough, so I think the best thing to do is to leave them be this evening and milk them a bit earlier tomorrow morning.

The risk involved in going out to bring in cows for milking now is too great. With so many hazards around, people should stay away from farmyards and open spaces.

Being outside is only putting yourself and others in danger. Don’t let this bad event turn into a tragedy

Even where generators are available, care should be taken to avoid being outdoors in hazardous conditions.

Wait for the wind to die down before going outdoors. For most people this will be later this evening.

At this stage, if something is going to get blown away it will, regardless of your attempts to prevent it.

Outside dangers

Being outside is only putting yourself and others in danger. Don’t let this bad event turn into a tragedy.

Experience from previous storms suggest that dangers exist even after the storm has abated.

Trees and branches from trees continue to fall for a few days after the storm so take extra care when assessing trees and buildings over the coming days.

Where power is gone, make sure stock have access to water.

Animals that are outside on grass will be OK without water for up to 12 hours but animals inside on silage and meal will need access to water at all times as the dry matter of that feed is higher.

Watch out for fallen power lines and report same to ESB Networks on 1850 372 999.

You can check out the ESB’s Power Check service to see how outages are progressing.

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