NHESSNatural Hazards and Earth System SciencesNHESSNat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci.1684-9981Copernicus PublicationsGöttingen, Germany10.5194/nhess-18-729-2018Catalogue of extreme wave events in Ireland: revised and updated for 14 680 BP to 2017O'BrienLauraRenziEmilianoDudleyJohn M.ClancyColmhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-7774-8426DiasFrédéricfrederic.dias@ucd.iehttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-5123-4929School of Mathematics and Statistics, University College Dublin, MaREI Centre, Dublin, IrelandCentre for Data Science, Loughborough University, UKInstitut FEMTO-ST, UMR 6174 CNRS, Université de Franche-Comté, Besançon, FranceCentre of Mathematics and Their Applications (CMLA), ENS Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, 94235 CachanFrédéric Dias (frederic.dias@ucd.ie)6March20181837297588June201727July201711January201815January2018This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This article is available from https://nhess.copernicus.org/articles/18/729/2018/nhess-18-729-2018.htmlThe full text article is available as a PDF file from https://nhess.copernicus.org/articles/18/729/2018/nhess-18-729-2018.pdf
This paper aims to extend and update the survey of extreme wave events in
Ireland that was previously carried out by . The
original catalogue highlighted the frequency of such events dating back as
far as the turn of the last ice age and as recent as 2012. Ireland's marine
territory extends far beyond its coastline and is one of the largest seabed
territories in Europe. It is therefore not surprising that extreme waves have
continued to occur regularly since 2012, particularly considering the
severity of weather during the winters of 2013–2014 and 2015–2016. In addition, a
large number of storm surges have been identified since the publication of
the original catalogue. This paper updates the
catalogue to include events up to the end of 2017. Storm surges are included
as a new category and events are categorised into long waves (tsunamis and
storm surges) and short waves (storm and rogue waves). New results prior to
2012 are also included and some of the events previously documented are
reclassified. Important questions regarding public safety, services and the
influence of climate change are also highlighted. An interactive map has
been created to allow the reader to navigate through events:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=19cZ59pDHfDnXKYIziYAVWV6AfoE&usp=sharing.
Introduction
The study of extreme wave events in the ocean has become a popular area of
research in recent years. Aside from sea farers, extreme waves impact coastal
communities and are of great interest to wave energy companies. This is
particularly prevalent in the face of coastal erosion, rising sea levels and
uncertainty about how the wave climate will change in a warming world. However,
much of the current research is based on modelling and experiments. Aside
from , , and , there are few
studies documenting the observations of such events.
The purpose of this paper is to extend and update the work of
, a catalogue of extreme waves around the island of
Ireland. Ireland's marine territory extends far out into the Atlantic and
covers approximately 880 000 km2. documented
extreme wave events extending as far back as 14 680 BP and as recent as 2012,
including storm waves, rogue waves and tsunamis. Since its publication, an
Irish Coastal Protection Strategy Study has highlighted the huge
number of storm surges that have occurred in Ireland. We therefore
incorporate storm surges as an additional category in this paper. We also
distinguish between two wave groups, long and short, since their
characteristics are distinct. Our study includes new events that have been
identified prior to 2012, recategorises events from the previous catalogue
and extends this catalogue out to 2017.
The paper is organised as follows: Sect. 2 gives an overview of the
categories of ocean waves included in this study, and Sect. 3 revisits the
events from . New events identified prior to 2012 are
outlined in Sect. 4, and a catalogue of events from 2012 to 2017 is laid
out in Sect. 5. A wider selection of issues relating to extreme waves are
discussed in Sects. 6–9: boulder deposits, climate change, public
awareness and services, respectively.
Categories of ocean waves
In waves were broken into three categories: storm
waves, rogue waves and tsunamis. Storm surges and meteotsunamis were
included as a subsection of tsunamis as they are both long-period waves with
a meteorological origin. Since this publication, new data
highlighted a huge number of storm surge events between 1961 and 2005. With
this in mind, upon review of the events documented in
, some have been recategorised as storm surge events.
In this paper, we give storm surges its own category due to the large
quantity of events that have come to light.
In addition, we feel it is appropriate to divide the wave categories into two
streams: long waves and short waves. Generally, the ratio of depth to
wavelength is used as a parameter to differentiate between long and short
waves. Long waves can be modelled using a simplified set of equations, called
the shallow water equations. Tsunamis and storm surges are typically very
long waves, so they are considered shallow water waves. Storm waves and rogue
waves are much shorter in wavelength relative to the ocean depth. The
dimensionless wave number used to differentiate between long and short waves
is kh, where k=2π/λ, λ is the wavelength and h is
the water depth. Tsunamis and storm surges have kh values of the order
10-3–10-1, while for storm waves and rogue waves kh values are of
the order 1–103.
It is important to note that there are various different classifications for
the boundary between long and short waves. For example, kh∼π4=0.79, kh∼π5=0.63 and kh∼π10=0.31.
However, in this paper we stick to the values that are representative of
tsunamis and storm surges (kh∼10-3–10-1) and storm and rogue waves
(kh∼1–103) to differentiate between long and short waves.
Typical values for wavelength (λ), water depth (h) and period
(T) for storm waves, rogue waves and tsunamis are given in Table .
The dispersion relation for short waves (ω=gk) and for longer
waves (ω=gktanh(kh)) is used to calculate the range of
periods, T in this table. For long waves we calculate the period based only
on the upper limit of λ.
Classification of short waves (storm waves, rogue waves) and long
waves (tsunamis) according to their wavelength, depth and period. Note that
storm surges are not included as the range of parameters is difficult to
evaluate.
Note that storm surges are not included because the range of parameters is
difficult to evaluate. For instance, it can be difficult to put a lower bound
on the period of long waves. The Typhoon Haiyan storm surge lasted less than 1 h. However, replicated this event, showing that it
was mainly due to the abrupt breaking of energetic storm waves over the steep
reef face rather than a storm surge. Table can be used as a guide,
but there are always going to be events that are exceptions to the rule.
For example, although kh is generally large for short waves, a rogue wave
was measured by a Waverider buoy at Killard (Fig. ) in 39 m
depth with a corresponding kh value of 0.74.
Short wavesStorm waves
Storm waves are wind surface waves that reach unusually large amplitude due
to forcing by strong winds. For example, storm to hurricane force winds
ranging from 10 to 12 on the Beaufort scale have probable maximum wave
heights from 12.5 to 16 m and beyond ().
The prevailing wind direction in Ireland is from the south and the west, and
on average there can be more than 50 days with gales (10 m wind speeds >17.2 m s-1) a year at northern coastal locations such as Malin Head
. Figure a shows the percentage frequency of wind
direction at numerous locations around Ireland, and the percentage of calm
days (<0.3 m s-1) is circled. Note that while an inland area like Birr has
approximately 1 in 10 calm days, coastal areas like Malin Head and
Rosslare have approximately 1 in 100 and 1 in 200 days that are calm,
respectively. Figure b shows the maximum gust speed likely to be
exceeded once in 50 years. Note that hurricane winds are those that exceed
32.7 m s-1 and the contours on this map range from 44 to 50 m s-1 .
In addition, waves approaching a cliff can be significantly amplified by a
variable coastal bathymetry. have shown that the
waves could be amplified nearly 12 times around the Aran Islands (three islands
off Co. Galway, on the west coast of Ireland).
With strong winds so prevalent in Ireland and coastal bathymetries
potentially favouring significant wave amplification, storm waves are an
important category of extreme ocean events in this catalogue.
(a) Percentage frequency of wind direction with circled number
representing the percentage of calm days. (b) Maximum gust speed likely to be
exceeded once in 50 years (m s-1)
.
Rogue waves
Rogue waves are large-amplitude waves surprisingly appearing on the sea
surface . They seem to appear from nowhere with a height 2–3
times that of the surrounding sea state, exist for a short time and then
disappear. The mathematical criteria
H/Hs>2and/orηc/Hs>1.25,
where H is the (trough-to-crest) wave height, ηc is the crest height
and Hs is the significant wave height, are commonly used
to classify rogue waves.
Rogue waves are also referred to as freak waves, monster waves or king waves.
Once thought to be folklore of seafarers, they are now accepted as an
important class of wave. This is due to recent scientific investigations
motivated by accounts of huge waves hitting ships and measurements of unusually large waves from
oil platforms . Rogue waves
are random in nature, occur in both deep and shallow waters and may act as a
single wave or a group of waves. It is almost certainly the case that
different mechanisms can contribute to the formation of rogue waves,
including both linear and nonlinear processes influencing waves both in the
local vicinity of a wind sea, as well as propagating swell. For example,
linear superposition and directional focussing effects could readily increase
local wave height in the presence of local wind, whilst nonlinear
instabilities could increase local wave group amplitude for a propagating
swell.
Work using analogies between ocean deep water waves and light propagation has
indeed been able to confirm many predictions of nonlinear deep
water wave growth and decay in an optical environment .
However, recently investigated real-world ocean
rogue waves and showed that their observed results could be explained by
directional focussing. A discussion of linear and nonlinear rogue wave
mechanisms is given in .
discusses the expected frequency of large waves in the
context of the statistical distribution of the maxima of a random function
theory by . In particular, he points out that the
theory indicates we should expect one in 1175 waves to exceed 3 times the
average wave height (∼1.9Hs) and one in 300 000 waves to exceed 4
times the average wave height (∼2.5Hs).
present global maps of predicted likelihood of
encountering a rogue wave within a 24 h period, based on observations of
7157 rogue waves over 81 years. For example, they predict a 0.8–1.2 %
chance of encountering a rogue wave exceeding 11 m along the main shipping
routes in the North Atlantic.
Note that field measurements of maximum wave heights (H) in constant depth
generally do not exceed 0.55h (where h is water depth) and tend to break
before reaching this height .
Experimental results by closely agree with this for
strongly breaking waves (H<0.56h) but exceed this value for moderately
breaking waves (H<0.63h), while numerical results
again exceed this value but not
by much (H<0.6h). Therefore, we expect H=0.55h to be a good indicator
of the maximum rogue wave heights in the ocean, while H<0.63h would be
the upper limit in idealised situations.
Long wavesTsunamis
Tsunami waves are mainly generated by earthquakes, landslides or volcanic
activity displacing large volumes of water. They can have wavelengths of the
order of 100 km and travel at around 800 km h-1. Although waves are
usually only a few tens of centimetres high in the open ocean, they can become
catastrophically big as they are compressed and slow down along the
shoreline. They have devastated countries at severe human cost, wiping out
miles of coastline, towns and villages on a path of destruction. The recent
events in Japan in 2011 and Indonesia in 2004 are a stark reminder of their
destructive power.
It is common that the first sign of a tsunami is an extreme withdrawal of the
sea followed by a wave that seems small in the distance, but which grows
rapidly and can be followed by successive waves for sometime after. The
first wave is not always the largest .
Without the proper infrastructure and education of the warning signs and
evacuation methods, tsunamis can have deadly effects on coastal communities.
Small tsunamis can also occur. They appear as disturbances with the same
generation mechanisms and characteristics of a tsunami without being life
threatening. There are cases in harbours where the tide has unexpectedly
risen and fallen repeatedly every few minutes over the course of an hour or
two. For example, in Rabaul, Papua New Guinea, a small tsunami occurred on 29 March
2015:
“residents noticed the sea level rose slightly, prompting
ocean water to flood the parking lot of a shopping center near the beach”
.
Large ships moving over appreciable depth changes are one source of small
tsunamis; they have recently been observed in the Oslofjord in Norway. These
waves pose a danger to coastal communities and may contribute to coastal
erosion .
Another source of small tsunamis are meteotsunamis. These are waves with
tsunami-like characteristics but are caused by air pressure disturbances
often associated with fast-moving air such as squall lines. Their development
depends on the characteristics of the disturbance (speed, intensity,
direction) and they can be magnified by resonances associated with the depth
of the water or when travelling in semi-enclosed water bodies .
Although there are not many documented incidents of meteotsunamis relative
to regular tsunamis, and even fewer meteotsunamis that have become
dangerous, a number of damaging meteotsunamis have occurred in various parts
of the world. This includes waves of up to 6 m in Vela Luka, Croatia, in
1978 , a 5 m wave that killed three people in
Nagasaki Bay, Japan, in 1979 and more recently a 2 m wave injured
three people in New Jersey in 2013 .
If there is no known origin of a tsunami-like wave it can be difficult to
differentiate between a small tsunami and a meteotsunami. For example,
underwater landslides can occur without notice other than the generation of a
wave, so it is important to consider different generation mechanisms in each
case.
Storm surges
A storm surge is an unexpected rise in seawater level generated by a storm.
The low-pressure area near the storm's eye reduces the weight of the air over
the ocean. This creates a swell in the sea which is pushed towards the coast
by the strong winds. As the storm approaches the coast, the combined effect
of the low pressure and the violent winds makes the water pile up along the
shore. It is a long-period wave and can have particularly destructive effects
in coastal areas where there is a significant difference between low tide and
high tide.
In Europe, storm surges alone usually do not generate coastal flooding.
Coastal flooding occurs when a storm surge hits the shore together with high
tides. To the coastal communities, the effect of the surge-tide coupling is
the same as a small tsunami despite the physics being very different.
The climate in Ireland is dominated by the Atlantic Ocean, in particular the
structure of the polar front over the Atlantic and the associated weather
systems that travel across Ireland. These systems can often amplify and
become large-scale depressions that move north-eastwards across the North
Atlantic and pass to the north-west of Ireland . Sometimes this
can lead to storms travelling across the ocean that initiate storm surges and
lead to coastal flooding.
The period of storm surges can range from 2.5 h to a day and excludes
wind waves and choppy sea, since they are characterised by periods smaller
than a minute. The only formal difference between a storm surge and a
meteotsunami consists of the difference between their maximum periods. The
maximum period for a tsunami does not exceed several hours, while storm
surges may last up to a day.
Events 14 680 BP–2012 revisited
The catalogue of events from has been revisited
here. In some cases events are reclassified as storm surges based on
descriptions of the event. In other cases, new references have come to light,
providing additional information about the event. Table lists every
event from and indicates whether the event has been
upgraded to a storm surge or if new information has been found. Section
elaborates on each of these events.
List of events from with any new
information or revisions.
LabelEventUpdateS11837, 1861, 1894, 1935,1894 recategorised as storm surge1987, 1988 & 1989:Mullet Peninsula, Co. MayoS21869 & 1881: Calf Rock, Co. CorkNew reference for 1881 event,recategorised as storm surge.S31839: Night of the Big WindLikely that this includes a stormsurge at the Cliffs of MoherS41864: Valentia, Co. KerryS51877: railway lines,Recategorised as storm surgeCo. Dublin & Co. WicklowS61899: Greenore,Carlingford Lough, Co. LouthS71941: Inisheer lighthouse,Recategorised as storm surgethe Aran IslandsS81945: Rosslare, Co. WexfordRecategorised as storm surgeS91951: Kilkee, Co. ClareS101953: Aran IslandsRecategorised as storm surgeS111962: Co. CorkS121974: Kilmore, Co. WexfordS131979: Fastnet RaceS141982: Ventry, Co. KerryS151985: Fastnet Rock lighthouseT114,680 BP: Barra Fan,Peach SlideT28200 BP: Storegga slideT31755, 1761, 1941 and 1975:Information about an additionaltsunami in 1969Lisbon, Portugal, tsunamisand tide gauge recordings from1969 and 1975.T41767: River Liffey, DublinT51841: Kilmore, Co. WexfordNew referenceT61854: Kilmore, Co. WexfordNew mapT71894: Galway Bay and Atlantic(Festina Lente andManhattan, off-map)T81922: Ballycotton, Co. CorkT91909: Westport Quay, Co. MayoSuspected meteotsunami ortsunami due to landslideT101910: Cork, Waterford,Southampton, Jersey,Dublin and IlfracombeT111912: Bray, Co. WicklowT121932: Inishowen, Co. DonegalRecategorised as storm surgeR11852: Inis Mór, Aran IslandsR21883: Youghal, Co. CorkR31899: Kilkee, Co. ClareR41914: Inishkeeragh, off DonegalR51936: Dundalk, Co. LouthR61972: Mullaghderg, DonegalR72004: LE Róisín, off Donegal coastR82006: off Portrush, Co. AntrimR92006: Ardglass, Co. DownR102007: Doonbeg, Co. ClareR112007: Valentia Island, Co. KerryR122011: Swanland, off BardseyIsland, Irish SeaR132011: Largest waveThis record has since beenexceeded (see Table )recorded in Ireland
See additional information in
Sect. .
Additional information1894: the Mullet Peninsula, Co. Mayo (S1)
The 29 December 1894 event has been upgraded to a storm surge due to the eyewitness description of a terrible gale that was blowing all night, with
“Green seas …going over our houses” and all the rooms “filled with the
sea” . On reflection this account is more akin to the
description of a storm-induced coastal flooding event rather than an isolated
storm wave.
1881: Calf Rock, Co. Cork (S2)
A new reference to this event gives some more information about what took
place on the rock. The description of flooding suggests that this was
actually a storm surge event. “It was blowing a stormy gale from NW,
accompanied by lurid flames of lightning every minute …three heavy waves
struck the tower …The three of us were in the basement story all this time,
and when the wave struck the tower, breaking it off above the basement, the
rush of water, bricks, and all came down into the basement story, washed us
down to the door, and we were up to the armpits in water …. when the sea
came in we had to jump on the chairs.” (The Horsham Times, VIC,
Australia, 28 January 1882, State Library Victoria).
1839: the Night of the Big Wind (S3)
The Night of the Big Wind, 6–7 January 1839, was one of the most damaging storms Ireland has ever
encountered. This was originally listed under the storm wave category in
. However, upon reflection of some of the descriptions
it is likely that a storm surge occurred alongside storm waves in some
regions. The description of how high the waves were at the Cliffs of Moher
and the Aran Islands indicates that a storm surge most likely occurred:
“the waves actually broke over the tops of the Cliffs of Moher …the
ocean tossed huge boulders onto the cliff tops of the Aran Islands”
.
1877: Co. Dublin–Co. Wicklow (S5)
This event in January 1877 was most likely a storm surge going by the
description of flooding on the train line: “The train line between Kingstown
(Dún Laoghaire) and Bray was considerably damaged by recent floods”
(The Irish Times, 25 January 1877).
1941: Inisheer lighthouse, Aran Islands, Galway Bay (S7)
The reference to severe flooding at Inisheer lighthouse in January 1941
suggests that this event was a storm surge .
1945: Rosslare, Co. Wexford (S8)
On 18 December 1945 gales and high tides hit many coastal towns. The
description of an “exceptionally high tide” that washed away part of the
cliffs in Rosslare bay indicates that this event was likely to have been a
storm surge (The Irish Times, 19 December 1945).
1953: Aran Islands and Irish Sea (S10)
During a storm in 1953 a large number of megaclasts at Gort Na gCapall on the
Aran Islands were shifted , indicating that it was likely a
storm surge had occurred.
1969 and 1975: Lisbon tsunamis (T3)
In addition to the 1755, 1761, 1941 and 1975 Lisbon tsunamis documented in
, there was another significant earthquake and
tsunami near Lisbon on 28 February 1969. The tide gauge recordings at
Belfast harbour show small oscillations which may be the arrival of this
tsunami; see Fig. . In addition, another tide gauge recording has
been located for the 1975 tsunami. The recording is taken at Belfast harbour
and is shown in Fig. .
Tide gauge recordings at Belfast harbour on (a) 28 February 1969
and (b) 1 March 1969. Minor oscillations can be seen upon close inspection
(black boxes), with the first wave arriving at approximately 13:00. Retrieved
through personal contact with the .
Tide gauge recordings at Belfast harbour 26–28 May 1975. Minor
oscillations can be seen upon close inspection at approximately 17:00.
Retrieved through personal contact with the .
1841: Kilmore, Co. Wexford (T5)
only had information about this event from the RAS
Historical Tsunami Database, which listed it as a questionable tsunami.
However, another reference has come to light with a description of what
occurred at Kilmore on 12 September 1841 . “The attention
of the inhabitants was attracted about noontime, to a number of short, loud,
but rather smothered reports, like cannons, and it was supposed that they
proceeded from some ship bewildered by the fog. The tide had flown pretty
well at the time, and the fishing boats in the pier were all afloat, when, in
a space of two or three minutes, the water receded from the pier, and some
walked dry shod where the short pace before the boats had been floating in
five or six feet of water. In the course of a few minutes the waters began to
return, much in the same way as they had receded, and the tide continued to
rise for the usual time. There was no extraordinary commotion, only an
increased surf. After repeated rolls in thunder, and some heavy showers, the
sky cleared up. It is the belief generally that this singular motion was the
effect of an earthquake, whose shocks have of late been so frequently
experienced in Scotland.” The recession and return of the tide in such a
short period of time would suggest that this was definitely a tsunami, but it
is not clear what caused it. The weather preceding the wave is described as
“a misty dark day, with the wind SSW to S …the low growel (sic) of distant
thunder was heard, and the wind lulled, which rendered the fog more dense”.
This might suggest a meteorological origin, but this is only speculation.
1854: Kilmore, Co. Wexford (T6)
A map depicting the tsunami at Kilmore Quay on 16 September 1854 has come
to light since the publication of ; see Fig. .
A tsunami at Kilmore Quay on 16 September 1854 .
1909: Westport Quay, Co. Mayo (T9)
likened this event to the 2011 mild tsunami that
occurred on the south-west coast of England because of the similar indictions
of static in the air. The 2011 event was originally reported as a probable
meteotsunami. However, since then it has been reported that the 2011 event was
likely caused by an underwater landslide (BBC News, 29 June 2011).
Therefore, it is still not clear what caused the 1909 tsunami-like wave in
Westport, but an underwater landslide or meteorological influences are likely
factors.
1932: Inishowen, Co. Donegal (T12)
The description of this event indicates that more likely it was a storm
surge, not a meteotsunami. In particular the “violent gales” and tide
rising to a height “not seen for very many years” would correspond to a
storm surge.
2011: largest wave ever recorded in Ireland (R13)
On 13 December 2011 the M4 weather buoy registered a
20.4 m wave which was the largest wave ever recorded by the buoy network to
date, but this record has since been broken.
The Kinsale Energy gas platform recorded a maximum wave height of 25 m on 12 February 2014 during a severe windstorm . In
addition, a 26.1 m wave was recorded here during Storm Ophelia on 16 October 2017 .
Moreover, in 2016, Storm Jake hit Ireland with severe winds of up to
133 km h-1 on 2 March, and a 30.96 m wave was recorded at 00:30 on the
wave buoy Belmullet Berth B (Fig. ). This could be interpreted as
a suspicious reading given how big it is, but the nearby wave buoy
Belmullet Berth A also recorded a 26.35 m wave at 03:30 (Fig. ),
indicating that there were very large waves in the region. Since the buoy
network was only set up in November 2000, it is not surprising that the
record has been broken since 2011.
In addition, analysis of a wave rider buoy at Killard (off the W coast)
identifies a 33.96 m wave on 26 January 2014 at 22:30 (Fig. ).
Again, this could be interpreted as a suspicious reading and we do not accept
this as the largest wave recorded in Ireland. However, it is worth noting
that the M4 buoy (off the NW coast) recorded a wave of 23.44 m on the
afternoon of the same day.
New events up to 2012Storm waves1588: Spanish Armada
The Spanish Armada, consisting of 130 ships and 29 450 men, were driven
off-course by bad weather during their attempt to return home through North
Atlantic after their effort to conquer Protestant England. Twenty-four ships were
wrecked off the Irish coast from Antrim in the north to Kerry in the south
.
1895: Dun Laoghaire
Fifteen men in a lifeboat lost their lives on 24 December 1895 when they were called to
rescue a Finnish vessel, SS Palme, which had run aground in Dublin Bay. This
is the worst tragedy to have occurred in the history of the Royal National
Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). High winds, rainstorms and flooding occurred
across the country throughout December, culminating in ferocious gales in the
final week of the year with nine ships wrecked on shore or sunk at sea. The SS
Palme left Liverpool on 18 December and immediately battled gales while attempting
to head south for many days without making much headway. On the morning of
24 December the captain, with an exhausted crew, decided to make a run
for Dublin Port. However, as the visibility worsened and they battled
constant rain squalls, they headed for Kingstown (Dún Laoghaire) Harbour but
were unable to navigate to safety so let their anchors go outside the West
Pier. Two lifeboats were sent to rescue the crew and as the first approached
the ship it was hit by a huge wave and capsized. The ship's crew attempted to
launch one of their boats to rescue the men but it was smashed against the
ship's side in heavy seas. The second lifeboat also capsized twice and lost
half her oars but righted and the crew managed to get to safety at Blackrock.
Thirteen of the rescue crew's bodies were washed up on Christmas Day and the
other two several days later. They included a father and son and two pairs of
brothers and left a total of 34 children fatherless. Astonishingly,
all 19 people aboard the ship were saved when the weather abated on 26 December .
There is a memorial to the crew at Dún Laoghaire shown in Fig. .
Granite memorial on the old lifeboat station wall, Dun Laoghaire .
1903: storms across Ireland
The period ending February 1903 was very stormy with depressions from the
Atlantic bringing very unsettled weather across Ireland. The night of 26 to
27 February was probably the most severe storm since the Night of the Big
Wind, 1839 . On 26 February, the Lady Disdain, a 25 ft yacht, was
wrecked in Valentia harbour, Co. Kerry, on its journey from Kingstown (Dun
Laoghaire) to Nenagh. On this day “there burst on the bay the hurricane
which swept the whole of Ireland”. At about 16:00 “the great wind came on” and
“great waves rode down the harbour tossing the biggest vessels like
cockieshells”. It was driven ashore and struck rocks (The Irish
Times, 5 March 1903). Also associated with this bad stretch of weather was
the drowning of a 9-year-old boy at Portrush, Co. Antrim, while he was on a
patch of strand beneath the promenade. It was windy and the waves
“frequently at long intervals” swept over the rocks and sand. The boy's cap
blew off and when he went to get it a “tremendous sea broke into the inlet,
knocking him against the rocks, and on receding carried him out with it” (The Irish Times, 28 February
1903).
1927: major storm off the west coast of Ireland
On 28 October 1927 a major storm swept across the northern half of Ireland
and Britain and took the lives of 45 people at sea. Nine fishermen drowned at
Lacken Bay, Co. Mayo, when the storm suddenly blew up and their boats were
driven against the rocks. Ten people from Inishkea Islands, 9 people from
Inishbofin and 26 fishermen in Cleggan Bay also lost their lives
.
1935: Arranmore boat disaster
On 9 November 1935, a small boat carrying 20 people from Burtonport harbour,
Co. Donegal, to Arranmore Island hit rocks and sank. There was only 1
survivor, and among the casualties were 12 people under 30 years of age and 7
from the same family. Many were returning from Scotland after picking
potatoes for the season. Although the accident reportedly occurred in a heavy
swell, the cause was due to the boat hitting rocks. It is therefore unlikely
that this can be attributed to a wave. However, the stretch of sea is known
for being treacherous, and 15 people died in three other incidents over the
same area (The Irish Times, 11 November 1935;
: 50th Anniversary of Arranmore Boat Disaster
1985).
1965: Achill Island
A 37-year-old farmer was swept out to sea by huge waves during a storm while
he was beachcombing with friends (Irish Independent 19 January
1965).
1975, 1976: off Rathlin O'Birne Island, Co. Donegal
On 7 January 1975, after leaving Burton Port, the Evelyn Marie fishing
trawler was hit by a wave and smashed up against the reef off Rathlin O'Birne
Island. The boat split in two and all six onboard lost their lives. On 23
November 1976, another fishing trawler, the Carraig Úna, was lost in very
similar circumstances to the Evelyn Marie off Rathlin O'Birne. All five crew
members died .
1981: off Killybegs, Co. Donegal
On 1 November 1981 the fishing trawler, the Skifjord, was battered by a
sudden storm and a “mighty wave” wedged the boat up against a reef. The
sturdy vessel was “smashed open” and the boat sank, leaving five of the nine crew members
dead .
1983: the Doolin Drownings, Co. Clare
On 31 July 1983, the second day of the Lisdoonvarna music festival, eight men
aged between 17 and 30, including three brothers, drowned at Trá Latháin
beach. At about 16:30 about 12 people went swimming off the Doolin beach
and got into trouble. There were warning signs at the beach entrance but it
seems that the group had entered the beach from a different area and so did not
know of the dangers. The cause of the drownings is not clear but numerous
different factors are reported to have contributed to the accident (The Irish Times, 1 August 1983).
An RTÉ documentary suggests that a strong coastal
current, a subterranean river and a turning tide combined to create
treacherous conditions. After the tragedy, the superintendent at Doolin Garda
(police) station warned people that the beach had a drastic drop of about
40 ft (12.2 m) which could not be seen even when the tide was partially
in. He also mentioned severe undercurrents and shifting sands (The
Irish Times, 3 August 1983).
1991: storm
From 20 December 1990 to 7 January 1991 vigorous depressions
moved eastwards to the north of Ireland, bringing strong winds across
Ireland . Numerous rescues by the RAF Sea King helicopter
took place including a rescue of crew members on board a sinking fishing
vessel after a wave split her hull (The Irish Times, 28 December
1990). A tanker also sank in the Irish Sea after being battered by winds
(The Irish Times, 7 January 1991). Rocks, boulders and waves caused
huge damage on Arranmore, off Co. Donegal. Large areas of farmland were
destroyed by “hundreds of tons of rocks washed ashore by the fury of the
seas”, an excavator was required to clear huge boulders off Chapel Road,
while several homes were damaged by waves. Harbours at Bunbeg, Magheragallon,
Burtonport and Portnoo were affected by high tides and boats destroyed
(The Irish Times, 7 January 1991). It was reported that waves reached
12 m (40 ft) at the harbour on Tory Island, off Co. Donegal (The
Irish Times, 25 December 1990).
A deep depression on 5–6 January 1991 brought strong gale force winds
across Ireland. Met Éireann reported that although there were no wave
observations, a reliable wave model predicted a significant wave height of
13–15 m in deep water off the west coast. Given this prediction they said
it was reasonable to expect that individual waves reached 25–30 m
.
1998: extreme storms
Severe weather hit Ireland and Europe on 4 January 1998, causing major
disruption to ferry and airline services, and the rescue of 10 fishermen from
their sinking trawler approximately 300 km south of Castletownbere, Co. Cork. They were
under tow after their engine failed, and when the tow rope broke they were
“at the mercy of the huge seas” in “force 11 gales” (103-117 km h-1). The
rescue helicopter captain said he had “never seen anything like the
conditions” with waves up to 70 ft (21 m) high covered by “20 ft
(6 m) of mist” because the wind was so strong (The Irish Times, 5
January 1998).
1999: Kilkee, Co. Clare
On 28 December 1999 a young woman was swept into the sea at Kilkee, Co.
Clare, while out walking with friends. It is unclear whether this event should
be categorised as a storm wave or storm surge since it occurred at the same
time as there was significant flooding. However, we include it as a storm
wave (Sunday Independent, 2 January 2000).
2005: Doolin, Co. Clare
Three men died on 31 October 2005 when the car they were sleeping in fell off a
cliff into the sea at Doonagore Bay, Co. Clare. Newspaper reports suggest
that they may have accidentally knocked the car out of gear while sleeping,
but we will never know what actually happened. Gale force winds and a
high swell hampered search operations (The Irish Times, 4, 8, 10
November 2005).
2006–2007: Kilpatrick, Co. Wexford
During the winter of 2006–2007, storms caused about “15 m of coast
collapse into the sea” including a section of an access road to local houses.
The road has not yet been repaired and coastal erosion in this area continues
to occur. While some locals would like protection from coastal erosion put in
place, it is a tricky situation as the region is also a Special Area of
Conservation, home to sand martins, a protected species of bird. Coastal
erosion continues in the region with more recent storms (The Wexford
People, 18 August 2010; The Irish Times, 14 January 2014).
Rogue waves1962: off Co. Cork
On 9 March 1962, a Spanish fishing vessel, Maria Somenque, had
the “entire front structure of the wheelhouse torn from its foundation” by a
“freak wave” (The Irish Press, 10 March 1962).
1969: off Co. Cork
shows a record from 12 January 1969 taken by the
Commissioners of Irish Lights (CIL) with a shipborne wave recorder on light
vessel
Daunt off Cork showing a wave that is 4.1 times the
average wave height. Given that the average wave height would usually be
around 0.63 times the significant wave height, this wave would be
approximately 2.6 times the significant wave height. See Fig. .
Wave recorder trace taken on 12 January 1969 (Fig. 1 in )
1994: bridges of Ross, Co. Clare
Professor Paul Wignall from the University of Leeds gave an eyewitness
account (email communication) of a possible rogue wave event that occurred at
the Bridges of Ross, Co. Clare, in March 1994 while on a field trip: “the
wave was 6 ft (1.8 m) higher than the highest part of the Bridge of Ross
which would make it approx 60 ft (18 m) higher than typical sea level
height. It was quite a stormy/choppy day …People …on the bridge …thought the wave would reach them and started to run across the field
behind …the wave actually broke into the gully in front of the ridge. I saw
the wave a couple of seconds before it struck and it was a vertical wall of
water rather than a typical breaking wave. I've been back several times …and no wave has come close to that one – a pretty memorable event.”
2006: Tullig Point, Co. Clare
On 29 October 2006 a man and his friend were swept into the sea by a wave
while fishing off rocks near the village of Cross (near Kilkee), Co. Clare.
While his friend managed to reach safety within minutes, unfortunately he
drowned (The Irish Times, 31 October 2006 and 23 December 2006).
2006: Blue Pool, Co. Clare
A Latvian man died when he was swept into the sea by a wave while fishing at
Blue Pool, between Kilkee and Doonbeg, Co. Clare, on 5 November 2006
(The Irish Times, 5 November 2006).
2007: Lettermore, Connemara
A man was swept out to sea by a “freak wave” as he was tending livestock
near Lettermore, on the Connemara coast, on 3 January 2007
(The Irish Times, 3 January 2007).
2007: Blue Pool, Co. Clare
On 1 July 2007 a Moldovan man was killed after he was washed from the
rocks at Blue Pool, between Kilkee and Doonbeg, Co. Clare, by a “rogue
wave”. The newspaper report notes that this spot is “notorious for freak
waves”, citing the 2006 incident also at Blue Pool and the 2006 Tullig Point
incident, which is nearby (Irish Independent 2 July 2007).
2009: West Cork
A man and his son vanished while fishing near Coominches, Co. Cork, on 12 July 2009.
The cause of their disappearance is unknown. The body of the
man was recovered (BreakingNews.ie, 15 July 2009).
2010: Ardfield, Clonakilty, Co. Cork
A man died after fishing by the rocks of a bay near Ardfield, Co. Cork, on
16 August 2010. Superintendent Pat Maher said conditions were misty at the
time of the incident and that it was highly likely he had either been swept
into the water by a wave or had lost his footing on the rocks while fishing
(Irish Examiner, 19 August 2010).
2011: Ross Bay northern shore of Loop Head Peninsula
In May 2010 a man swept from rocks while fishing at Ross Bay on the northern
shore of Loop Head Peninsula (Irish Examiner, 27 August 2011).
Storm surges1967–2005: storm surges that caused coastal flooding
Table shows the historic major coastal flooding events across the
Republic of Ireland, in the period 1967–2005. A major coastal flooding event
is defined here as an inundation in excess of 0.5 m of an otherwise dry
coastal area. Such a level, though usually not harmful to human life, can
indeed damage houses and electric grids and interrupt business and transport
services, usually causing large financial losses in relief and reconstruction
costs. As an example, Insurance Ireland recently announced that the estimated
cost of claims relating to storm damage and flooding in December and early
January 2014 is approximately 46 million euros .
The dataset was extrapolated from the historic storm surge archive published
in the Irish Coastal Protection Strategy Study (ICPSS) by the Office for
Public Works . In that study, the Irish coastline was originally
divided into six areas, namely north-east (NE), south-east (SE), south (S),
south-west (SW), west (W) and north-west (NW). For each area, the ICPSS
reports a number of storm surge events together with the relevant water level
records obtained from local gauges. By cross referencing the ICPSS archive
with technical reports issued by county or city councils found on the
National Flood Hazard Mapping portal or newspaper articles
obtained from the Irish Newspaper Archives, we identified those storm surge
events that generated coastal flooding in excess of 0.5 m.
Note that the table includes events prior to 1967 and after 2005 since the
assessment period varies between reports (S: 1967–2006; SE and NE: 1959–2005; SW, NW and W: 1959–2009).
Inland areas can also be affected by storm surges, for instance if an area is
connected to the ocean by an estuary or river. Therefore, some inland
flooding events have been included as coastal flooding events in this paper.
These are restricted to events within ∼10 km of the coast. It is also
important to note that there are many storm surge events that have reports of
major coastal flooding associated with them, but no inundation depths are
reported; this is particularly true in earlier years. Therefore, there may be
storm surge events that caused coastal flooding in excess of 0.5 m that are
not included in this catalogue due to a lack of available information.
Between 1961 and 2006 we identified 40 periods where coastal flooding was
generated in Ireland; this is nearly an average of 1 per year. It is
interesting to note that all but two of the periods occurred between late
autumn (October) and early spring (March). The inundation levels associated
with the storm systems of Table vary from the threshold level of
0.5 m to a couple of metres. Sources were scored according to their
reliability, from A to C. A level A source is an official technical
report, while level B indicates a report in a newspaper article and a level
C source is an eyewitness account in a newspaper article.
Coastal flooding in excess of 0.5 m: 1961–2005 in the north-east
(NE), south-east (SE), south (S), south-west (SW), west (W), north-west (NW).
The reliability of sources are labelled from A to C, where A indicates
an official technical report, B indicates a report in a newspaper article,
and C is an eyewitness account in a newspaper article. Note that dates are given in the format
day/month/year.
Flood dateRegionLocationInundationSourceReliability22/10/1961NEGlin, Limerick1.2 mThe KerrymanB24/10/1961WKinvarra, Galway1.8 mConnacht TribuneBWGalway city and Salthill1.2 mConnacht TribuneB07/03/1962NEQuay Street Dundalk, Louth0.6 mThe Irish PressBNEBoyne Road Drogheda, Louth0.6 mThe Irish TimesBSEMain St, Wexford0.6 mThe Irish PressB17/11/1963NEClontarf, Dublin0.6 mThe Irish PressB22/12/1968SWBallynacally – Ennis Road1.2 mIrish IndependentB02/02/1972SThe waterfront and railway line, Wexford0.6-1.2 mIrish IndependentBand The Irish PressSThe quayside, Waterford0.6 mIrish IndependentBSEStrand Road, Bray, Wicklow0.9 mThe Irish PressB08/01/1974SBridgetown, Wexford0.6 mCork ExaminerB10–11/01/1974WRoad at Clogher, near Belmullet1.2 mConnaught TelegraphB10–11/01/1974NWCaltragh, Sligo1.5 mSligo ChampionC10/01/1974SCork city0.9 mThe Irish PressB10/01/1974SCobh, Cork0.6 mThe Irish PressB10/01/1974SWaterford city0.6 mThe Irish PressB11/01/1974SBallinacurra, Cork1.2 mCork ExaminerC12–13/01/1974WFrenchville, Galway≥0.6 mConnacht SentinalB11/11/1977WGalway city0.6 mThe Irish PressB12–13/12/1981STimoleague –0.9 mThe Southern StarBCourtmacsherry Road13/12/1981NEClontarf road, Dublin1.2 mThe Irish PressB13/12/1981SEBray, Wicklow1.2 mThe Irish PressB14/12/1981SWLimerick city0.9 mCork ExaminerB18/12/1983SClonakilty, Cork0.6 mCork ExaminerB07/04/1985SCork city0.9 mIrish IndependentB04/12/1986NWRossbeg, Donegal≥0.6 mMayo NewsB21/10/1988SCork – Killarney Road0.6 mCork ExaminerB01/03/1989SWSpanish Point, Clare and1.2 mIrish IndependentB08–09/03/1989WSpanish Parade, Galway0.6 mGalway City TribuneB09/03/1989SWFivemile Bridge and0.6 mCork ExaminerBCastlecountess – Ballymullen Road, Kerry14/12/1989NEBlackrock and Salthill train stations, Dublin0.6 mIrish IndependentB25/08/1992NWDerrybeg, Donegal1.5 mDonegal NewsB25/08/1992NWAnnagry, Donegal0.9 mDonegal NewsC17/01/1995SWLimerick city0.6 mLimerick LeaderBWCladdagh, Galway0.6-0.9 mConnacht TribuneBWGrattan Park, Galway0.9 mGalway City TribuneB10/01/1997WGalway city≥0.6 mConnacht SentinalB09/02/1997SWCorbally, Limerick0.9 mLimerick LeaderB10/02/1997WGalway city≥0.6 mConnacht SentinalB04–08/01/1999WAchill Island, Mayo0.5 mIrish ExaminerB01/02/2002SENew Ross, Wexford≥0.6 mIrish IndependentBSEBray, Wicklow1 mOPWANEStella Gardens, Dublin2.1 mDublin City CouncilASWQuilty, Clare2.1 mOffice of Public Works (eyewitness account)CSWBallylongford, Kerry0.9 mOffice of Public WorksANEMornington District, Drogheda0.6 mOffice of Public WorksANEMarsh South, Dundalk0.5 mOffice of Public WorksA21/11/2002SBlackpool and Togher, Cork0.6-1.2 mIrish ExaminerB21/11/2002SCork city≥0.6 mIrish IndependentB27/10/2004SEWexford Quays1.2 mWexford County Council and The Irish TimesASCrosshaven Road, Cork1.6 mCork City CouncilASDungarvan, Waterford1.5 mThe Irish Times and Irish IndependentCSDunmore East, Waterford1.5 mThe Munster ExpressBSCork (city) and Carrigaline1.2 mIrish ExaminerBSWaterford city0.9 mIrish ExaminerBSDungarvan, Waterford≥0.6 mIrish ExaminerB11/01/2005SETralee, Kerry≥0.6 mThe Kerryman North EditionB03/12/2006WCrossmolina, Mayo0.9 mIrish IndependentB1942: Co. Kerry
A severe storm swept over Co. Kerry during the week of 12 December 1942
with the “highest seas since 1928”. Many boats were destroyed and the storm
was described as what may be “the worst ever experienced”, with flooding and
the sea walls being “completely demolished”, “badly breached” or “washed
way”. One house was flooded with seawater 0.6 m (2 ft) deep. A well-known landmark, a large rock, disappeared. The lighthouse lamp was put out by
huge seas and high winds. Large quantities of seaweed were strewn across the
streets and the beaches were covered with fish. Damage to fishing boats and
nets were caused by “mountainous seas and very high tides”.
It was believed that sheep were blown off the cliffs in one area, while it
was reported that a “tidal wave” washed 7 cattle and 60 sheep off an
island near the Derrynane coast. There was a narrow escape by a 73-year-old
man who swam to safety in Kenmare Bay when his boat was swept from her
mooring and smashed into pieces. Unfortunately his little dog was found with
the wreckage the following day (The Kerryman, 19 December 1942).
The description of high tides and tidal wave suggests that this event was a storm surge.
1961: Hurricane Debbie, west of Ireland
The centre of Hurricane Debbie passed close to the west coast of Ireland on
16 September 1961, bringing winds gusting over 171 km h-1 (110 mph).
There was extensive damage to property, with 11 deaths attributed to the
storm , while newspapers reported 15 deaths
(Irish Independent, The Irish Times, 18 September 1961).
A French weather ship reported wind of 114 mph (183 km h-1) and 45 ft
(13.7 m) waves in the Aran Islands region. Seven small craft were sunk at their moorings at
the Galway docks and one swept away (Connacht Tribune, 23 September
1961). At Lough Sheelin, Kilnaleck, boats were carried inshore, some as far
as 50 yards (45.7 m) (The Anglo-Celt, 23 September 1961).
1962: Youghal, Co. Cork
A major storm caused severe high tides and flooding in Youghal, Co. Cork, on 7 March 1962 and surrounding days. The town was severely damaged and the
sea wall collapsed. The waves on the beach “revealed rarely seen peat
masses …evidence of our past connection with Yew Trees”.
There was also reports of flooding and heavy seas causing damage at Rosslare,
Co. Wexford, on the train line at Wexford town and between Greystones and
Kilcoole, Co. Wicklow. Flooding and huge waves also hit Bray, Co. Wicklow, and
Clontarf, Co. Dublin, and caused a small landslide at Bray Head. Heavy seas at
Kilmore Quay, Co. Wexford, tore a trawler from its moorings. At Skelligs Rock
lighthouse off Co. Kerry, a wall, railings and roadway were washed away by
“mountainous seas”. In addition, a coaster was driven ashore by strong winds
and huge waves at Ards Peninsula, Co. Down (The Irish Times, 9 March
1962; : Aftermath of Storm Youghal 1962).
The ICPSS do not include this event in their reports, but
there was clearly significant coastal flooding associated with it. Therefore,
flooding in excess of 0.5 m is shown in Table in the same format
as
Table .
Coastal flooding in excess of 0.5 m on 7 March 1962. The
reliability of sources are labelled from “A” to “C”: where “A” indicates an
official technical report, “B” indicates a report in a newspaper article, and
“C” is an eyewitness account in a newspaper article.
The weather in January 1974 was mild, wet and stormy as the North Atlantic
and a large section of north-western Europe was under a “sway of complex low
pressure area”. An extreme storm on 11–12 January caused extensive
damage. In particular full moon spring tides combined with wind and low
pressure caused damage to low-lying coastal farms and houses: “Roads were
blocked by seaweed, rocks or other debris and in some sections destroyed”.
Many small boats sank and larger boats were torn from their moorings. At
Inisboffin, off Donegal, waves were sweeping through the centre, cutting it in
two temporarily. Also, a “freak event” at Crushoa, in south Galway, occurred
on the evening of 11 January. Seaweed farmers noticed the tide “reversed for
about an hour and then returned with full force and vigour not discernable in
its earlier movement” (; Connacht Tribune, 18
January 1974).
The descriptions given here imply that this event was a storm surge.
1976: storm
A storm on 2 January 1976 caused widespread damage in Ireland. A depression
intensified considerably off the northern coast of Ireland taking people by
surprise and generating storm force winds in many areas. At Limerick, the
tide was just 7.6 cm short of its record level (68.6 cm). The coastal town of
Ballina, Co. Mayo, reported flooding, though it is not clear if this was
coastal flooding or due to the river bursting its banks. The sea at Kinvara,
Co. Galway, “cascaded across the quays” and the tides “swept over the road
in two places” nearly cutting off the town .
The high tides and coastal flooding clearly suggest this was a storm surge event.
1986: storms and Hurricane Charley
August 1986 brought a succession of storms and flooding to Ireland. On 5
August a vigorous depression approached from the south-west bringing record
rainfall to Valentia, Co. Kerry, and west Cork. In Tralee, Co. Kerry, the rain
combined with a high tide caused a subterranean river under the town to
flood. At Bantry, Co. Cork, shops were in 3 ft (0.9 m) of water at high
tide.
Just 10 days later, tropical storm Charley appeared off South
Carolina and intensified to a hurricane as it tracked north-north-east. On
18 August Charley began to decline as it headed out into the Atlantic, and by
22 August it was no more than an ordinary depression. However, the following day
it began to deepen rapidly and by 24 August it had clearly developed into a
separate depression. It tracked about 500 km south-west of Kerry and
continued south of Ireland over the coming days causing major flooding and
damage. In fact, it was the worst flooding in Dublin for 100 years and
described at the time as one of the worst storms in living memory. It seems
that the flooding associated with Hurricane Charley was associated with heavy
rain rather than a storm surge (, The Irish
Times, 6 August 1986).
2002: Co. Dublin
Atlantic depressions brought frequent rain and gales across the country in
February 2002, causing rainfall levels to be twice the monthly normal in many
parts of the country. This led to flooding in many areas. However, a deep
depression that passed north-east of the country on 1 March brought
exceptionally high tides, especially in the Irish sea. Dublin was most
affected with its highest tide measured for over 80 years. Sea defences
failed and rivers and canals burst their banks causing major flooding in
parts of the city .
Tsunamis1942: Ventry harbour, Kerry
A “tsunami” was observed at Ventry harbour on a calm, sunny day in September
1942. During a “series of huge waves”, “you could see the bottom of the
ocean floor”. It is said that sheep moved to higher ground before the arrival
of the wave and locals were picking up fish from the fields after the event.
The event seemed to only affect Ventry Bay region and not the surrounding
harbours on the other side of the peninsula. This might indicate that
resonance occurred in the bay due to its shape (eyewitness account
provided by Dunbeg Fort and Visitor Centre).
2011: south coast
The tsunami database recorded a questionable tsunami on 27 June
2011 in Plymouth, England, with run-up values recorded at Newlyn, Plymouth,
Portsmouth and St Michael's Mount. The tide gauge record at Castletownbere,
Wexford and Ballycotton shows evidence of this wave in Fig. . The
tsunami cause is given as meteorological on the NOAA database, but a BBC
News report on 29 June 2011 suggests it was due to a submarine landslide.
Tide gauge data from 26 to 29 June 2011 at (a) Castletownbere (SW
coast), (b) Ballycotton (S coast) and (c) Wexford (SE coast); small
oscillations are clearly visible. Data retrieved from .
New events 2012–2016Storm waves2014: north Co. Wexford
A storm on 13 January 2014 damaged a stretch of the North Wexford
coastline which was described as “some of its worst damage in decades”. In
particular, a section of a house in Ardamine was “left hanging in the air,
when the cliff face below was washed away”. In addition, part of a car park
in Cahore, a beach access road at Ardamine and a walking trail in Courtown
Woods were washed away. One local described “a high tide, and the wind in
the right direction with a big swell”, creating the very damaging conditions (The Wexford People, 14 January 2014).
2014: west Co. Cork
Two men died while out walking along the coastline in west Cork. Apparently
the two men “had hoped to take photos of stormy seas striking rocks” by a
local lighthouse. The route known locally as Poet's Path is very exposed in
parts to the wind and sea. Gardaí (Irish police) assumed that freak waves
and gusts of up to 130 km h-1 caused them difficulty (Irish Independent, 11 February 2014).
2014: Belderrig, Co. Mayo
The front of a stone built boathouse was destroyed at Belderrig near
Belmullet, Co. Mayo, after a large wave hit it on 10 December 2014. The
boathouse sits approximately 10 m above sea level. Nearby, at about 15 m
above sea level, a sizeable boulder was found overturned, and about 1 km
from the boathouse, at approximately 30 m above sea level, large rocks
(∼ 40–50 kg) were also found strewn about. One of the locals noticed that
the sea withdrew dramatically after one of the large waves hit the coast.
Nearby at Portacloy, the sea state caused a Second World War look-out post to
collapse on the same day. A photo of the sea condition in the area on this
day are shown in Fig. .
The M4 buoy located off the coast, north-east of Belderrig, recorded a maximum
wave height of 21.5 m on the same day, with a corresponding significant
wave height of 14.5 m (see Fig. ). This is not classified as a
rogue wave, but the waves hitting the coast of Co. Mayo on this day did
significant damage. A local man pointed out that if the large waves had hit
the coast at high tide, the damage could have been far worse (personal contact with Seamus Caulfield and Gretta Byrne, 2016.).
The sea condition as viewed from the platform at the Céide fields, Co. Mayo, on 10 December 2014.
M4 records of (a) maximum wave height (m) and (b) significant wave height (m) on
10 December 2014. Data retrieved from .
2015: Hook Head, Co. Wexford
A 14-year-old girl died after she and three other teenagers were swept into
the sea off Hook Head, Co. Wexford, during a heavy swell in the aftermath of
Storm Desmond on 6 December 2015. The four were part of a scouts group
expedition. It was reported that they were walking on the rocks along the
foreshore when a “rogue wave” dragged them out to sea (The Irish
Times, 7 and 10 December 2015).
2016: Culleton's Gap, Co. Wexford
The sand dunes at Culleton's Gap (the Raven), near Curracloe, Co. Wexford,
were altered after gales on 20 August 2016 (personal
communication with James Herterich, 2016). Trees that line the beach were damaged,
sand was shifted and tree roots were exposed (see Fig. ). Locals
say that this is a common phenomenon in the region, particularly with strong
easterly winds. Presumably it is a combination of wind and waves that alters
the dunes here.
Pictures of the sand dunes at Culleton's Gap, Co. Wexford, taken on
18 September 2016, approximately 1 month after the gales (source:
James Herterich).
2016: Irish Sea
A passenger ferry was forced to spend the night in the Irish sea during a
storm on 21–22 November 2016. The ferry was bound for Fishguard,
Wales, travelling from Rosslare, Co. Wexford, and had two failed attempts of
docking before deciding to remain off the Welsh coast overnight. The ferry
finally docked at 11:00 on 22 November (The Irish Times, 22 November
2016).
2017: Storm Ophelia
On 9 October 2017, tropical Storm Ophelia developed in the middle of
the North Atlantic. Over the next few days Ophelia developed into a category
3 major hurricane and was forecast to hit Ireland on 16 October. Concerned with
the severity of the wind forecast and potential flooding, Met Éireann
issued a “status red” warning for the whole of Ireland on 15
(RTE News, 16 October 2016). In addition, it was announced that all
public education institutions would close along with some other non-essential
services. Many other employers followed suit, informing staff not to come to
work.
Ophelia was a violent and destructive wind storm with mean wind speeds of up
to 111 km h-1 and gusts up to 156 km h-1 . This caused
severe damage across the country including three fatalities (The
Irish Times, 16 October 2017). The coastline was battered by large waves,
particularly on the south coast. A 26.1 m wave was recorded at the Kinsale
Energy gas platform, while 9.6 m, 13.6 m and 17.8 m waves were recorded
at the M2, M3 and M5 wave buoys, respectively. See Table , Figs. and .
Large waves recorded during Storm Ophelia, on 16 October 2017.
LocationMaximum haveSignificant waveheight, Hheight, HsM2 buoy9.6 m5.1 mM3 buoy13.6 m9.8 mM5 buoy17.8 m13 mBelmullet Berth A buoy18.5 m4.41 m(see Sect. )Kinsale Energy gas platform26.1 m14.2 m
Maximum wave height recordings on the M2, M3 and M5 buoys during
Storm Ophelia on 16 October 2017. The largest waves recorded were
9.6 m (M2), 13.6 M (M3) and 17.8 m (M5). Data retrieved from .
Maximum wave height recordings at the Kinsale Energy gas platform during Storm
Ophelia on 16 October 2017. A 26.1 m wave was recorded. Data courtesy of Emily Gleeson at Met Éireann.
Rogue waves2013: Ballyrean, Co. Clare
On 6 October 2013 a Latvian national was washed off the rocks by a
“strong wave as he attempted to fill a bucket with water” at an area known
locally as the Fisherman's Climb, near Ballyrean, Co. Clare (Irish
Independent, 6 October 2013; Irish Times, 8 October 2013).
2014: Waverider buoy, Killard, Co. Clare
A rogue wave was observed by a Waverider buoy near Killard
deployed by the ESB, on 28 January 2014, with a maximum trough-to-crest
(up-crossing) value of 26.45 m with a significant wave height of 11.4 m
. Analysis of the raw data shows that a rogue wave
with a crest-to-trough or down-crossing value of 33.96 m was possibly recorded
on 26 January 2014 at 22:30, with a significant wave height of 12.28 m (see Fig. ). Note that there were seven rogue waves greater than 20 m
identified on this day, using both the up-crossing and down-crossing method,
though two were part of the same wave packet. In addition there were three rogue
waves greater than 20 m identified the following day, 27 January 2014.
Furthermore, multiple rogue waves greater than 20 m have been recorded by
this buoy between November 2011 and January 2015. It should be noted that the
buoy was out of action February–July 2012 and January–September 2013 for various reasons.
A total of 20 waves (on 7 days) were identified using up-crossing and
down-crossing methods. For each of these days, the rogue wave with maximum
wave height is plotted in Fig. . Note that some values are missing
due to the devices recording being irreparable. (The sensors on the Waverider
buoy can only record a displacement of ±20.48 m. Waves may actually have
been higher, just not recordable.)
Wave of 33.96 m recorded at Killard ESB buoy on 26 January 2014
(a) between 22:30 and 23:00 and (b) zoomed in. The wave as identified by its
crest-to-trough is highlighted in red.
Large rogue waves recorded at Killard ESB buoy. Wave height
recordings for the 30 min duration when wave occurred (left column) and
zoomed in around the time of event (right column). The waves are highlighted
in red with wave height (H) and significant wave height (Hs) inset into
zoomed figure. (a) 2 November 2013, 15:30. (b) 3 January 2014, 07:30. (c) 25 January 2014,
14:30. (d) 27 November 2014, 08:00. (e) 1 February 2014, 11:00. (f) 8 December 2014, 01:00.
(g) 10 December 2014, 14:30.
2015: ADCP measurements
deployed a state-of-the-art Sentinel V acoustic Doppler
current profiler (ADCP) off the west coast of Ireland near Killard, Co.
Clare,
from 9 February to 1 May 2015. Their aim was to gather accurate wave
measurements in extreme conditions. Of the 750 000 waves recorded and
analysed, 13 were rogue waves (approximately 1 in every 60 000) and only 3 of
these waves were greater than 4 m and none exceeded 10 m. A similar study of
field measurements measured 3649 rogue waves in
122 million individual waves (approximately 1 in every 30 000).
A number of large waves with amplitudes close to 20 m were recorded on
22 February (see Fig. ). This shows that large waves of interest
are not always classified as rogue waves.
Large waves recorded by an ADCP near Killard, Co. Clare, on 22 February 2015.
Note that the ADCP is deployed in an area with water depth h=36.5 m;
therefore we would expect that waves here would not exceed heights of H=0.55h=20 m.
2015: the Wormhole, south of Dún Aonghasa, Inis Mór, Aran Islands
On 8 April 2015 a student was swept off a cliff face and into the
sea by a giant wave at the renowned Wormhole (a rectangular-shaped pool at
the bottom of cliffs) on Inis Mór. Luckily people in the area were able to
go to her aid and saved her using a makeshift rope. Video footage can be
seen of the occurrence on Youtube (The Irish Times,
15 April 2015).
2015: Baltimore, Co. Cork
On 30 June 2015 four people were hit by a rogue wave while fishing near
the Beacon in Baltimore; only one survived. They were initially hit by a
couple of waves and then a “big wave” dragged two of the group out to sea.
The other two were pushed up against the rocks; one then jumped into the sea
in an attempt to rescue the others but sadly all three drowned (The
Irish Times, 26 April 2016).
2016: Ballyrean, Co. Clare
A woman drowned after being swept out to sea by a “rogue wave” while fishing
with friends in Ballyrean, south of Fanore, Co. Clare, on 10 July 2016.
Conditions at the time were harsh with winds reaching gale force 6–7
(Independent.ie, 10 July 2016; The Irish Times, 10 July
2016).
2016: Storm Jake
Storm Jake in late February–early March 2016 brought severe weather to
Ireland. On 2 March at the Belmullet Berth B wave buoy, a 30.96 m wave
was recorded with a significant wave height of 10.69 m, classifying it as a
rogue wave (see Fig. ). However, the buoys can only be considered
reliable within a certain range of displacement from mean sea level, so very
large wave recordings like this should be treated with caution. Furthermore,
without the raw data we could not check the validity of these measurements.
Although, the nearby Belmullet Berth A wave buoy also recorded a wave
measuring 26.35 m (with a significant wave height of 11.94 m) at around
the same time (Fig. ) giving more confidence in the recording.
Maximum wave height at (a) Belmullet Berth B and (b) Belmullet Berth
A wave buoys on 1–3 March 2016. Data retrieved from . Dates are day/month/year.
2016: Belmullet Berth A
On 7 August 2016, the Belmullet Berth A wave buoy recorded a rogue
wave, in excess of 13 m (significant wave height of approximately 6 m).
This was during a period of unusually windy conditions for the summer season.
2017: Storm Ophelia
A number of large waves were recorded during Storm
Ophelia on 16 October 2017 (see Sect. ). However, only
one of these waves can be classified as a rogue wave. An 18.5 m wave was
recorded by the Belmullet Berth A wave buoy, with a significant wave height
of 4.41 m. See Fig. and Table .
Maximum wave height recordings on the Belmullet Berth A buoy during
Storm Ophelia on 16 October 2017. An 18.5 m rogue wave was recorded
with a significant wave height of 4.41 m. Data retrieved from
.
Storm surges
The winter of 2013–2014 was severely affected by a large number of storms due
to the atmospheric jet stream extending right over Ireland carrying
successive storms. This exceptional weather combined with high tides resulted
in serious coastal damage and widespread flooding .
In particular, high spring tides on 3 January and 1 February
coincided with storms on 2–3 January, 5–6 January and 1 February causing
extensive storm surges and damage around the country. These
events and a significant storm in 2017 are described in more detail below.
2014: January storms
Storms at the end of December caused some coastal flooding in Cork, Wicklow
and Dublin (Irish Independent 2 January 2014) but the storms on
2–3 and 5–6 January 2014 had far greater consequences. Tide
gauges at Rossaveal, Co. Galway, and Clarecastle, Co. Clare, on 3 and 6 January
recorded large surges combined with a high spring tide causing extensive
damage and flooding along the western coastline .
On 2 and 3 January there was extensive flooding around Galway city and
Salthill, Co. Galway, while six cars were swept off the pier at Cleggan. In
Lahinch, Co. Clare, the promenade was destroyed by the storm surge, while
many other coastal regions in Co. Clare coastline were flooded and damaged.
In Westport and Ballina, Co. Mayo, there was severe coastal flooding and
damage (Sunday Independent, 5 January 2014).
Over 0.6 m of flooding was reported in Foynes, Co. Limerick, and severe
damage along the Kerry coastline, particularly at Rossbeigh Beach,
Ballybunion, Dingle and Ballinskelligs (The Kerryman, 8 January
2014).
Storm surges also affected other parts of the country. In Cork city, flood
levels reached 0.6 m on 2 January and coastal flooding in Northern Ireland
around Belfast, Newry and Coleraine. Some coastal flooding also occurred in
Dublin, Waterford and Kerry (Irish Independent, 3 and 5 January
2014; Belfast Newsletter, 4 January 2014).
The storm on 5–6 January exasperated damage, particularly along the
Galway coast with “chunks of coastline” ripped off. Many coastal graveyards
were affected, infrastructure on the Aran Islands and Inisboffin were badly
damaged and parts of road were washed away along the Connemara Coast. There
was also severe tidal flooding on Achill Island (Galway City
Tribune, 10 January 2014; Connaught Telegraph, 7 January 2014).
At Blacksod lighthouse, Co. Mayo, the helipad had to be closed after it was
submerged in 0.6 m water and there was damage to paving stones and
surrounding wall .
2014: February storm
Another storm on 1 February 2014 caused more coastal flooding and
damage across the country. Coastal flooding was worst in Co. Cork,
particularly in Cork city, Clonakilty and Kinsale. In Co. Kerry there was
over 0.75 m flooding in homes around Ballybunion. Floods also hit the
Maharees area causing damage to Scraggane Pier Road, Castlegregory beach and
the sand dunes at Stradbally beach. Areas of Limerick, Waterford and Galway
(see Fig. ) were also affected by flooding (Irish
Independent, 5 February 2014; The Kerryman, 5 February 2014;
The Southern Star, 8 February 2014).
Photos of Galway on 1 February 2014 (credit: Emiliano Renzi)
2017: Storm Ophelia
In addition to a number of large waves that occurred during Storm Ophelia
(see Sects. and ), a significant
storm surge was recorded in Galway Port. The surge was 1.6 m above
predicted sea level and occurred 30 min before high tide. This resulted
in flooding at the Docks, Spanish Arch and Salthill Promenade in Galway.
Fortunately, the surge quickly dissipated, likely due to a rapid change in
the speed and direction of the wind . See Fig. .
Tide gauge recordings from Galway Port during Storm Ophelia on 16 October 2017
(figure retrieved from ).
Tsunamis
No tsunamis were recorded for Ireland between 2012 and 2017.
New surf wavesPotential big wave surf spot, Atlantic Ocean
Big wave surfer Andrew Cotton believes that a reef off the west coast of
Ireland has the potential to produce some of the biggest surf waves in
Ireland. Andrew first noticed that the region had potential in 2010, and in
2013 he saw approximately 15 m (50 ft) waves there, and he believes it
could easily get to 18 m (60 ft). Since 2015 he has been watching the
charts and conditions waiting for the perfect weather conditions, tide and
swell .
Riley's wave, Co. Clare
The discovery of Riley's wave in the late 2000s is attributed to Mickey
Smith. The location of big surf waves along the Irish coast can be difficult
to locate and generally require local knowledge and precise directions. See a
picture of surfers climbing up from Aileen's wave in Fig. . In the
case of Riley's wave you “trek across a few fields that turn boggy in winter
and walk through a herd of cattle …jump a few watery ditches and climb a
gate and then begin to walk across the long rocky ledge which is lethally
slippery all year round but farcical in winter, when the surface freezes
over …Rock falls, from pebbles to boulders, happen regularly; the platform
is strewn with smashed-up stone. About halfway across lie the dried-out hides
of a horse and foal which fell from the headland a couple of years ago. The
rock shelf has collapsed in the middle so you have to skip across a narrow
ledge to get across to where the wave breaks” (The Irish Times, 9
October 2012).
Bumbaloids, Co. Clare
Originally a bodyboarding location, the wave was first surfed by Feargal Smith and Mickey Smith in April 2007 .
pinpoints Bumbaloids between Doolin and Dunagore and rates the size of the waves between 0.9 and 3.7 m (3–12 ft).
See a picture of sunset at Bumbaloids in Fig. .
Surfers hike back up a cliff after surfing Aileen's wave, Co. Clare .
Sunset at Bumbaloids, Co. Clare .
Buoy network
The Irish Marine Institute manage a group of offshore buoys deployed around
the Irish coast that monitor weather and oceanographic conditions in
real time. Figure shows the distribution of rogue waves and large
waves (>10 m) recorded for buoys M2–M5 during the period for which data
are available for each buoy between March 2011 and June 2016. Notice that
waves classified as rogue waves are not often very large. Also, there is a
much greater number of large (non-rogue) waves than rogue waves, indicating
that more often than not a very large wave is not classified as a rogue wave.
Table shows the number of rogue waves and large waves for buoys M2–M5 (during
the period for which data are available for each buoy between March
2011 and June 2016). Again this highlights the difference between numbers of
rogue wave and large (non-rogue) waves, particularly for M3 and M4, which lie
off the west coast of Ireland. Notice that M2 and M5 buoys do not record many
of either wave type; these buoys are located off the east coast and south-east
coast of Ireland in more sheltered waters.
The number of rogue waves and large waves recorded for buoys M2–M5
between March 2011 and June 2016 (M2: 31 March 2011–1 July 2016;
M3: 1 June 2012–1 July 2016;
M4: 7 June 2011–1 February 2016; M5: 23 January 2012–1 July 2016).
Number of rogue waves (a, c, e, g) and number of large waves
greater than 10 m (b, d, f, h) recorded for each buoy – (a, b) M2; (c, d) M3; (e, f) M4;
(g, h) M5 – for data available between March 2011 and
June 2016 (M2: 31 March 2011–1 July 2016; M3: 1 June 2012–1 July 2016;
M4: 7 June 2011–1 February 2016; M5: 23 January 2012–1 July 2016).
Data retrieved from .
Boulder deposits
Evidence of boulder deposits due to waves can be found in numerous areas
around Ireland . A review of possible mechanisms
for this type of boulder movements is given in ,
though there is no consensus in determining the size of waves at the coast
and the masses they can carry. Boulder deposits can be used as indicators of
the impact and sheer force of the ocean. However, there is a lack of data
quantifying the effects. In 2014 Rónadh Cox and her group from Williams
College, MA, USA, collected an important dataset on the Aran Islands, off the
west coast of Ireland, documenting the movement of >1000 boulders.
Below we list some more recent reports of boulder deposits due to extreme
waves in Ireland.
1991: Clifden, Co. Galway
Renvyle House Hotel in Clifden suffered severe damage from a storm in early
January 1991. It was reported that wave and boulders lashed the house. The
owner described how a “tidal wave had hurled rocks and stones” (The Irish Independent, 7 January
1991).
2014: Lahinch, Co. Clare
A storm on 2–3 January 2014 generated a severe storm surge that
caused “huge boulders” to be thrown across the car park at Lahinch
promenade, Co. Clare (Sunday Independent, 5 January 2014). Similar
damage occurred at Rossbeigh Beach, with “tarmac rocks and boulders”
distributed around the area after the storm (The Kerryman, 8 January
2014).
2014: Brandon, Co. Kerry
A storm surge on 1 February 2014 caused damage to the pier at Brandon,
Co. Kerry, as the sea “threw up massive boulders and debris” (The
Kerryman, 5 February 2014).
Horse Island, Co. Mayo
A local man
Personal communication with Seamus Caulfield, 2016.
noticed
that there is dramatic movement of large rocks on Horse Island, Co. Mayo. It
is estimated to have occurred at approximately 30 m above sea level.
Climate change
Global warming will lead to a rise in mean surface temperatures of between
0.18 and 4.8 ∘C by the late 21st century . This
will result in changes to global circulations, particularly the atmospheric
jet stream, which is a major driver of mid-latitude weather.
Although climate models mostly agree on a poleward shift of the jet stream in
response to anthropogenic forcing, there is still considerable spread between
different model projections and uncertainty
in how this will affect weather. In particular, there is low confidence in
projecting changes in the Northern Hemisphere winter storm tracks, especially
in the North Atlantic Basin .
Ireland is strongly influenced by the position of the jet stream as it
generally coincides with the path that storms will take as they pass over or
near Ireland. Various studies have downscaled climate projections over the
21st century to determine how Ireland's climate is expected to change.
The first actual wave climate projections for Ireland have been carried out
by , who have provided the highest-resolution wave
projection dataset available for Ireland. They found that 10 m wind speeds
over the North Atlantic Ocean (5–75∘ N, 0–80∘ W) are expected
to decrease by the end of the century (in means up to 3 % and extremes up to
14 %). They also predict an overall decrease in mean and extreme (up to 15 %)
annual, winter and summer significant wave heights around Ireland. These
results indicate that extreme wave events are expected to decrease in the
future.
Further work is required to increase confidence in these results since
uncertainty remains in the future position of the jet stream, in particular
in the North Atlantic , and subsequently
the projected changes in wave heights. Additionally, recent research suggests
that the effect of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) should be taken into
account when considering future extremes in the North Atlantic, as a positive
phase may in fact enhance extremes of significant wave height
.
Coastal erosion
Ireland has approximately 6000 km of coastline. The
winter storms of 2013–2014 caused huge damage and erosion along this
coastline. It is still unclear whether these storms can be attributed to
climate change, but found that wave conditions that are
only expected to occur once a year were exceeded 7 times in just 1 month
during this time. warns that if severe storms like these
become more frequent, Ireland will need to come up with a strategy for
coastal erosion. Further, a predicted sea level rise of approximately 0.5 m
is used for most engineering design in Ireland. However, wave setup on
exposed coastlines and storm surges (low pressure and onshore winds) can
significantly increase water levels. argues that
quantifying wave setup and storm surges would be better parameters to apply
to engineering design along the Irish coastline.
In addition, have studied wave impacts on vertical
cliffs and shown that certain wave groups may produce higher run-ups than
previously predicted (exceeding the initial wave amplitude by a factor of 5).
These results have been backed up by other studies including
, who showed that waves impinging on a vertical wall
can exceed 6 times the far field wave amplitude, while
simulated the bathymetry of the Aran Islands and
showed that run-up can be amplified nearly 12 times under certain
conditions. These studies suggest that the design wave heights used by
engineers for coastal structures may be too low.
Tsunami surges result in coastal erosion, while tsunami-induced currents also
present an obvious hazard to maritime activities and ports. An event like the
1755 Lisbon tsunami, which generated 2 m waves in Kinsale, would nowadays
cause much damage because of the larger number of boats and also pose a
danger to human life. There is also the threat of major landslides off the
west coast of Ireland that could not only
generate 4 to 5 m waves in Belmullet but also generate complex motions in
the surrounding bays. While erosion can change the coastal landscape, so can
accretion. More recently, thousands of tons of sand were deposited by unusual
tides at Dooagh, Achill Island, recreating the strand they had lost to storms
33 years prior (The Irish Times, 1 May 2017).
Public awareness and educationStorm waves and rogue waves
Most of the Irish coastline enjoys a seascape free from barriers or
restrictions. This is one of the reasons that locals and foreigners alike are
attracted to coastal amenities and stunning scenery. However, as evidenced
from this catalogue there are dangers associated with extreme waves when
venturing so close to the ocean. In particular, there are areas that seem to
be accident prone. Between Doonbeg and Kilkee, Co. Clare, seven rogue or storm
waves have caused accidents, while five such waves have been documented between
Doolin and Fanore, Co. Clare. These sites may be more accident prone due to a
higher frequency of extreme waves or larger volumes of people doing coastal
activities in the region. However, given that there has also been multiple
incidents where people have slipped and fallen into the sea in these areas,
it is likely due to the volume of people.
Local knowledge may play a part in these incidents since there are many
occurrences involving non-locals. It seems sensible that signs should be
present along certain parts of the coastline alerting people to the dangers
of extreme waves. Signs do exist (for example see Fig. ), but
it may be more effective to emulate road signs identifying a “black spot”
region or state the number of people who have died on Ireland's coastline.
Warning signs should be combined with public education on the subject. The
Irish Coast Guard often run safety campaigns; for example in June 2016 they
launched “No Life Jacket? No Excuse” aimed at people visiting Irish coastal
areas over the summer holidays.
Warning sign at Kilkee, Co. Clare.
Storm surges and tsunamis
Storm surges and coastal flooding are somewhat predictable with modern-day
weather and tide forecasts. Warnings will often be circulated by news and
emergency services prior to a coastal flooding event. When flooding is
expected in a region, safety measures are usually implemented by local county
councils including the use of sandbags or advising vulnerable people to move
to a safe place. The OPW also maintains a website to
inform the public how to prepare for a flood and what to do during and after
a flood (http://www.flooding.ie). However, the lead time, severity
and location of flood forecasts could be improved. Funding for a new flood
forecasting unit was announced by the Irish government in early 2016 and is
due to be set up by Met Éireann and the OPW in 2017.
When it comes to tsunami forecasting, the International Tsunami Information
Center provides warnings from the major tsunami warning centres around the
world. So, if a tsunami were heading towards Ireland it is likely that a
warning would be circulated. However, knowing that a tsunami is coming is not
enough to avoid loss of life. Countries prone to tsunamis have pre-prepared
risk maps and evacuation plans for different tsunami scenarios. This does not
exist in Ireland due to the low risk of a life-threatening tsunami occurring.
However, there are two potential sources of large tsunamis that could effect
Ireland. The first is a volcano landslide in the Canary Islands and the
second is a large underwater landslide off the continental shelf in the
Atlantic Ocean, but it is not clear what might trigger such an event.
On 27 September 2016, nations on the Atlantic, Mediterranean and Black Sea
decided to strengthen their tsunami warning systems by giving France, Greece,
Italy and Turkey a region-wide alert role and the UNESCO Intergovernmental
Oceanographic Commission (IOC) NE Atlantic and Mediterranean (NEAM) tsunami
warning system is now fully operational. The Geological Survey of Ireland
(GSI) is the lead organisation for tsunami emergency management in Ireland
and the Irish delegate to the UNESCO-IOC NEAM tsunami warning group.
The GSI is developing tsunami warning and management systems with the
assistance of the CENtre d'ALerte aux Tsunamis (CENALT), the tsunami service
provider for the NE Atlantic. CENALT have included tsunami forecast points
around the Irish coast so that tsunami arrival times can be provided within
2 min of having confirmation of seismic event parameters. Currently,
Met Éireann provide a message receipt and forwarding service for tsunami
warnings, but there is no tsunami warning focal point in Ireland to
interpret and distribute messages if required. The GSI is moving forward to
rectify this. The development of tsunami warnings and emergency management
is important for Ireland and tsunami risk is now on the official list of
risks for Ireland. However, as discussed in Sect. another
aspect that needs to be explored is potential damage to the coast and
coastal structures.
Other dangers
Changing tides can also be a source of danger in Ireland. There are many
incidents along Ireland's coastline where people have become trapped due to
an incoming tide. For example in Galway Bay (The Irish Times, 4 June
2012), in Bundoran, Co. Donegal (Afloat Magazine, 18 July 2014), at
Green Island, Co. Clare (The Irish Examiner, 22 March 2015), and in
Bannow Bay, Co. Wexford (The Irish Independent, 21 November 2016).
This is another circumstance where signs should be present in vulnerable
areas, warning people to check the tide times.
Group swimming on Christmas Day, St Stephen's Day (26 December) or New Years
Day has occurred in towns across Ireland for many years; many are
charity events while others are tradition. Those who take part need to be
vigilant, particularly as conditions can be dangerous at this time of year
and there are not usually lifeguards on duty. On Christmas morning in 1997 at
the Forty Foot, a famous swimming area in Sandycove, Co. Dublin, conditions
were particularly bad and many of the enthusiastic but non-regular swimmers
got into trouble. One boy was swept away by a “sudden freak wave” and a
teenage girl was “bounced at great speed from rock to wall to rock”
(The Irish Times, 31 December 1997). Public education would
encourage people to be safety conscious and make sensible decisions about
whether to partake or not.
Services
Multiple organisations manage different aspects of the Irish coastline and
marine sectors; some oversee safety while others manage data collection.
Data services
The OPW is a service organisation in Ireland; one of
their main areas of responsibility is flood risk management. They provide
real-time sea level data recorded at 11 tide gauges on their hydrometric
network, including data up to 5 weeks prior, through a web
portal
http://waterlevel.ie/group/16
. The OPW also maintain a
website http://www.floodmaps.ie that contains reports and
information about floods that have occurred around Ireland.
The Marine Institute is the agency responsible for marine research,
technology development and innovation in
Ireland
.
It provides access to real-time and past data from 20 tide level stations
deployed around the Irish coast, along with four wave buoys and five weather buoys
that are located in various locations offshore. They also provide a 6-day
marine forecast for significant wave height, mean wave period and mean wave
direction.
The CIL manages Ireland's network of
lighthouses, providing a safety and support service around the coast of
Ireland. With advances of e-navigation the CIL now has a heavy focus on
technology and data services. Real-time wave and weather data can be
retrieved for seven buoys located at various locations offshore and weather
data at two
lighthouses
Met Éireann is the national weather service in Ireland. They provide real-time and past weather observations along with weather forecasts and rainfall
radar images. This includes sea area weather forecasts and sea state
observations
http://www.met.ie
.
The OPW, in collaboration with the RPS Consulting Engineers and Met
Éireann, are forecasting sea levels, tide and surge around the Irish coast.
However, this is not yet available to the public.
The GSI
http://www.gsi.ie
is
responsible for acquiring geological data and providing advice and
information in all aspects of Irish geology. In conjunction with the National
Emergency Coordination Centre, the GSI will develop tsunami hazard maps and
emergency response plans for Ireland. This will ensure the safety of coastal
communities in the unlikely event of a tsunami hitting the Irish coast.
Rescue services
The RNLI is a charity that was established in 1824 and is operated largely by
volunteers. It provides lifeboat search and rescue services, seasonal
lifeguards, water safety education and flood rescue response around the
British Isles. There are 43 stations located around the island of Ireland.
The Irish Coast Guard is part of the Department of Transport, a department of
the Irish government. Their overall objective is to reduce the loss of life
on Ireland's seas, lakes, waterways and rivers, and coastal and remote areas.
Members are made up of both paid employees and unpaid volunteers. Unlike
other countries, the Coast Guard in Ireland is not part of the defence
forces. However, they are assisted by the Air Corps and Navy.
The Community Rescue Boats Ireland are a group of independent voluntary
rescue boats who make themselves available to the Irish Coast Guard,
responding to emergencies in their area. Communities have traditionally set
up teams following drowning tragedies.
On 12 September 2016 a member of the Doolin Coast Guard unit lost her
life when the boat she was in capsized during a rescue operation. She was the
first member of the Coast Guard to die on active duty.
Largest waves recorded in Irish marine territory.
DateWave heightLocation13 December 201120.4 mM4 buoy26 January 201423.4 mM4 buoy12 February 201425 mKinsale Energygas platform16 October 201726.1 mKinsale Energygas platform2 March 201626.35 mBelmullet Berth A buoy2 March 201631 mBelmullet Berth B buoy26 January 201434 mKillard wave rider buoyInteractive map
An interactive map has been created using Google Maps, displaying the wave
events discussed in this paper, including those from the original catalogue
of extreme waves . The map is divided into four
categories: storm waves, rogue waves, tsunamis and storm surges. Lighter-coloured markers represent events from the original catalogue
of , while darker colours are used for events identified
in this paper.
The map can be found by following this link:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=19cZ59pDHfDnXKYIzi
YAVWV6AfoE&usp=sharing.
Conclusions
This catalogue (in combination with ) attempts to
provide an extensive database of extreme waves around the island of Ireland.
Forty-one storm surges that caused severe coastal flooding, 12 tsunamis, 30 storm
waves and 29 rogue waves are documented. This cannot be considered an
exhaustive list, but it provides a benchmark to work from when
considering how extreme waves impact Ireland. We hope that an accurate
database can be established by combining this work with other sources. This
is necessary in order to inform the future development of Ireland's marine
resource and to protect the future of Irish coastlines and communities.
One of the major conclusions of this paper is that coastal flooding due to
storm surges are common occurrences in Ireland with 68 events documented in
this catalogue. Note that these are only events where flooding of more than
half a metre was reported. There are numerous storm surges where flooding of
more than half a metre is likely to have occurred but was not reported or
events where flooding was less than half a metre but still caused huge damage
or disruption. This highlights the need for accurate documentation of events
as they occur. Coastal flooding brings major socioeconomic impacts, so it is
imperative that Ireland adequately prepares for such events now and into the
future.
As found in , rogue waves continue to be a common
occurrence in Ireland, with many people losing their lives as a result.
Understanding the dynamics of these waves may reduce the associated risks in
the future. However, until then it is important that the public are educated
on the subject and proper warnings are in place on dangerous stretches of
coastline. Storm waves also pose major risks and this paper has shown that
many of the very large waves recorded on the buoy network are not rogue
waves. Some of the largest waves recorded by Irish buoys are shown in Table ,
but the largest three should be treated with caution as
readings can become unreliable beyond a certain threshold.
With increasing average temperatures globally and rising sea levels, it is
still uncertain how the marine climate will adjust in the future. This is an
area of ongoing research and of particular interest to Ireland given its
proximity to the ocean and the frequency of extreme events.
Finally, without the vital services and volunteers of the RNLI, Irish Coast
Guard and Community Rescue Boats, the number of deaths in Irish waters would
be far higher. These services should continue to be well maintained and given
proper recognition.
The observation data in this paper have been collected from online resources:
, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (2015) global historical
tsunami database and .
Information about data from the Killard ESB buoy can be found in and
from the ADCP deployed off Killard can be found in .
The Supplement related to this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-18-729-2018-supplement.
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Acknowledgements
This work was funded by the ERC under the research project ERC-2011-AdG
290562-MULTIWAVE and ERC-2013-PoC 632198-WAVEMEASUREMENT. This study was also
funded by Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) under the research project
“Understanding Extreme Nearshore Wave Events through Studies of Coastal
Boulder Transport” (14/US/E3111). The authors are grateful to ESBI for
sharing the Killard wave measurements and would like to thank Teledyne R & D
and Brian McConnell from GSI for their useful contributions. Thanks also to
Sarah Gallagher for her helpful comments on the paper and to Emily Gleeson
for providing data on the Kinsale Energy gas platform. In addition, the
authors thank Kathy Gordan from the Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level
(PSMSL) for providing high-frequency tide gauge recordings and Seamus Caulfield
and Gretta Byrne for providing information on the damage caused in Co. Mayo
during the 2014 storms. Thanks also to many people who passed on information
and eyewitness accounts of wave events, including David Long from the
British Geological Survey, Paul Wignall from the University of Leeds, Sean
Dineen from University College Dublin, Caroline from the Dunbeg Fort and
Visitor Centre, Jim Hurley and Clive Hawkins.
Edited by: Mauricio Gonzalez
Reviewed by: Efim Pelinovsky and one anonymous referee
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