PUBLIC EVENTS SHOULD be cancelled in areas under Status Orange wind warnings, a review published after Storm Éowyn has said.

The review details learnings from the major storm that occurred in January, which saw hurricane-level winds sweep across the country. It was described as “one of the most dangerous and destructive storms in living memory”.

The Department of Housing and Local Government looked at the response of the National Emergency Coordination Group to the extreme weather event.

Among its recommendations for future such events, the review says functions should be cancelled in areas where an Status Orange wind warning threshold is forecast.

“Event sites and funfairs with temporary structures of all kinds may need to be considered for closure at a lower threshold, which should be set by the event organiser at the event planning stage,” it says.

“All event organisers should have arrangements in place to monitor winds speeds at the site of an outdoor event.”

Essential services, such as electricity, gas, communications, and water, are also recommended to plan in advance by assessing their vulnerabilities and mitigating risks.

They will expected to report these through their lead government department to the Government Taskforce on Emergency Planning.

Over half a million residences and premises lost power during Storm Éowyn.

Disruption to gas and electricity supplies were key risks identified in this review.

“The cascading impacts of the disruption to the electricity supply following Storm Éowyn highlight the need for all operators of essential services to ensure adequate backup power generation is available,” it says.

“While power to the majority of affected customers was restored within one week, complete power restoration following Storm Éowyn took 18 days.

“Whilst it is not envisaged that every element of critical infrastructure be designed to be available for an indefinite duration without mains power, major subsystems within critical services must be designed to endure long periods without mains electrical power.”

The review recommends that detailed guidance on backup power generation should be developed for operators of essential services.

It also said that vegetation needs to be better managed in order to remove barriers to electricity and telecommunication infrastructure.

This would include putting limits on the height of roadside vegetation and granting the powers to enforce them.