Hurricane Debbie (1961)
Republic of Ireland
### Republic of Ireland

| \+ Notable wind measurements |

| Location | Maximum gust | [10\-minute sustained](/wiki/Maximum_sustained_wind "Maximum sustained wind") |
| Belmullet |   

| [Birr](/wiki/Birr%2C_County_Offaly "Birr, County Offaly") |   

| [Claremorris](/wiki/Claremorris "Claremorris") |    

| [Clones](/wiki/Clones%2C_County_Monaghan "Clones, County Monaghan") |    

| [Dublin Airport](/wiki/Dublin_Airport "Dublin Airport") |   

| [Kilkenny](/wiki/Kilkenny "Kilkenny") |   

| [Malin Head](/wiki/Malin_Head "Malin Head") |    

| [Mullingar](/wiki/Mullingar "Mullingar") |     

| [Roche's Point](/wiki/Roche%27s_Point_Lighthouse "Roche's Point Lighthouse") |   

| [Rosslare](/wiki/Rosslare_Strand "Rosslare Strand") |   

| [Shannon Airport](/wiki/Shannon_Airport "Shannon Airport") |     

| [Valentia Observatory](/wiki/Valentia_Island%23Climate "Valentia Island#Climate") |    

|

As early as 13 September, residents were made aware that a storm might strike parts of Ireland with hurricane\-force winds. Two days later, forecasters believed the storm would take a more southerly course towards [France](/wiki/France "France"). This forecast was later withdrawn as the storm failed to turn eastward. Consequently, gale warnings were issued for much of western Ireland on the morning of 16 September, hours before the brunt of the storm arrived.  Fearing building collapses, officials in [County Galway](/wiki/County_Galway "County Galway") closed markets for the duration of the storm.

As a powerful extratropical cyclone on 16 September, post\-Debbie became one of the most intense storms on record to strike Ireland. The storm brought hurricane\-force winds to a large part of the country, with wind gusts peaking at  off the coast of [Arranmore](/wiki/Arranmore "Arranmore"). At several locations, all\-time wind gusts and ten\-minute sustained wind records were broken. Post\-Debbie was the strongest storm, in terms of atmospheric pressure, to strike Belmullet during the month of September, with a pressure of  measured in Belmullet. Rainfall from the storm was relatively minor, with rainfall rates peaking at  per hour at the Valentia Observatory.

The greatest damage occurred in a swath stretching from [Kerry](/wiki/County_Kerry "County Kerry") to [Limerick](/wiki/Limerick "Limerick") as well as the counties of [Sligo](/wiki/County_Sligo "County Sligo") and [Donegal](/wiki/County_Donegal "County Donegal"). In these areas, the storm's powerful winds damaged or destroyed many buildings and downed trees and power lines. In the hardest hit areas, communication was not restored for over four days.  Many roads were blocked by debris for up to two days. Crops and trees were badly damaged. Approximately two percent of the trees in the forestry industry were snapped or uprooted. In general, [corn](/wiki/Maize "Maize") and wheat crops fared better than expected, with only 25–30 percent being lost; however, some farmers reported [barley](/wiki/Barley "Barley") losses greater than 50 percent.  Downed trees from the storm wreaked havoc, leaving considerable damage and loss of life behind. All told, Hurricane Debbie was responsible for 12 deaths in the Republic of Ireland. Four people were killed in [County Cavan](/wiki/County_Cavan "County Cavan") – a widow, her two daughters and granddaughter – after a tree fell on their car.  Five deaths resulted from fallen trees and three others were from building collapses. At least 50 people were injured, few of which were serious. 

[thumb\|left\|Satellite picture of Hurricane Debbie on 13 September over the open Atlantic, taken by the [Mercury\-Atlas 4](/wiki/Mercury-Atlas_4 "Mercury-Atlas 4") spacecraft](/wiki/File:Hurricane_Debbie_September_13%2C_1961.jpg "Hurricane Debbie September 13, 1961.jpg")
Newspapers reported that the city of [Galway](/wiki/Galway "Galway") "resembled a bombed area," referring to the scale of damage caused by the winds.  In nearby [Ballygar](/wiki/Ballygar "Ballygar"), two barns were destroyed, one of which had debris strewn over a wide area. Hurricane\-force winds battered [Tuam](/wiki/Tuam "Tuam") for several hours, leaving most buildings damaged.  Nearly every structure in [Connemara](/wiki/Connemara "Connemara") was damaged and many homes lost their roofs. At [Cork Airport](/wiki/Cork_Airport "Cork Airport"), windows at the control tower were blown out and a construction crane was knocked over.  Residents in [Loughrea](/wiki/Loughrea "Loughrea") dubbed Saturday, 16 September 1961, as "The Day Of The Big Wind" in light of the extensive damage. Damage in [Roscommon](/wiki/Roscommon "Roscommon") was "impossible to calculate," as all power and communication around the town was lost.  In Limerick, 15 people were injured. Across County Cavan, thousands of trees were snapped or uprooted, leaving many towns temporarily cut off as roads were blocked and communications lost. Many structures sustained damage, which ranged from broken slate roofing to flattened barns. Most towns across the county were left without power and telephone service. Residents described the storm as "the worst in living memory." 

Along the coast, rough seas spurred by the winds damaged docks and flooded some coastal regions. Offshore, waves reached heights of  near Arranmore.  Dozens of ships were torn from their moorings and run aground at various ports, some of which were found  inland. In [Salthill](/wiki/Salthill "Salthill"), three marinas were damaged with forty vessels damaged or sunk.  Between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. local time, onshore winds from the storm caused the [River Shannon](/wiki/River_Shannon "River Shannon") to flow backwards and rise . Hundreds of acres of land, including potato and cabbage plots, were left several feet underwater. Many roads were submerged, making travel impossible in the area. The combination of strong winds and [sea spray](/wiki/Sea_spray "Sea spray") from the storm caused extensive defoliation of vegetation up to  inland. Spray from the [River Foyle](/wiki/River_Foyle "River Foyle") reportedly travelled .

In the wake of the storm, more than 1,000 [Electricity Supply Board (ESB)](/wiki/ESB_Group "ESB Group") personnel were deployed to restore power. In some areas, locals worked together to provide others with fresh food after electricity was lost. Fire brigades were sent on patrol to quell any looting. In Galway, ESB repair crews worked through labor and supply shortages to restore power and telephone service despite recent strikes in the company. By 23 September, officials in the city appealed to [the Government](/wiki/Government_of_Ireland "Government of Ireland") for funding to deal with the aftermath of the storm. Uncertainty over whether some of the cost could be footed by landowners themselves resulted in disagreement over how much aid to request. Due to the severity of damage to the electrical grid, there were numerous requests made to the ESB to build underground power cables, especially in Galway. 


How do we know for sure how severe the damage was?