Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said "we were blessed" that nobody was seriously injured or killed when a 'localised' tornado caused significant damage to a number of buildings in a Co Leitrim village.
The Main Street through Leitrim village remains closed, as locals continue to take stock of the devastation in the aftermath of the freak weather incident.
Speaking during a visit to the village this afternoon, Mr Varadkar said: "I think it's only when you really see it you get an appreciation for the explosive force of a whirlwind, and that's essentially what happened in this village yesterday."
He said that power would be restored this evening and that "we were blessed" that nobody was seriously injured or killed given "the force of the wind that ripped through here".
He said he was "keen" to put in place supports to help repair homes, businesses and public infrastructure.
A clean-up operation is under way after high winds tore through the village at around 12.30pm yesterday.
Walls were levelled, roofs were taken off buildings, garden sheds were lifted by the winds, cars were destroyed and a trail of debris is still strewn around and beyond the 200-metre zone impacted.
There were no reports of serious injuries, although it is understood one man received treatment for cuts to his head after wooden planks landed on his car windscreen.
The Taoiseach said he wanted to extend his thanks to emergency services, council crews and Civil Defence teams, who had responded speedily to the event.
Mr Varadkar said he was very keen to put in place the supports that people in the village would need.
In the immediate aftermath, he said those who would sustained damage to their buildings were eligible for humanitarian support, while other assistance would be made available for businesses likely to sustain financial losses.
Mr Varadkar said there were a number of schemes for families and that when the clean up effort was complete, a further analysis of need would be carried out.
Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphries confirmed that the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme is available for those living in properties directly affected by Storm Fergus and the tornado.
She said: "I saw the shocking scenes yesterday of the effect of the tornado in Leitrim village during Storm Fergus and the damage this has caused to people's homes and properties.
"An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar was in Leitrim Village today to see the damage caused and I can now confirm that the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme is open and support is available.
"If any homeowner affected by severe weather needs to access these supports, they can contact the Community Welfare Service by phoning 0818 60 70 80."
The Taoiseach spent over an hour walking around the village, visiting home and business owners whose properties sustained damage yesterday.
He said the Government would be engaging with the insurance sector to ensure any issues that might arise were ironed out.
He said that most people who are affected have insurance, but it may take a while for the payments to come through.
"Immediately, the humanitarian scheme from the Department of Social Protection is open and that helps people who are affected if their homes are damaged with financial support," he said.
"Then as well as that, for those who couldn't go home, the council has provided them with emergency accommodation as well if they needed it.
"But the next step really is to engage with the insurance companies, most people are insured, but it can take time for that money to come through. And we can put in place some business supports in particular to help the businesses affected.
"Because there are people obviously who would have expected a very busy period in the run up to Christmas, they would have staff who would have planned in their minds money overtime and so on, those are the kind of things we can help with."
He said that damage to things like street lighting and some roads will have to be costed and there will be a "special allocation to the council" to cover those costs.
Minister for Justice Helen McEntee said the Government will support businesses, homeowners and individuals affected in the area.
She said the Government had not been found wanting when it came to helping others who had been impacted by recent extreme weather and those in Leitrim would be assisted "in the same way".
She said Ireland is going to see more and more of these types of weather events and it may mean the Government needs to change its overall approach to how it supports businesses, while at the same time, making sure it puts in place the mitigating factors to try to prevent them.
Locals say they are hoping that financial assistance can be fast tracked, to help them rebuild and recover.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, the owner of the Leitrim Inn and Blueway Lodge, said the street her premises is on looked like a "war zone".
Adeline Guckian described her shock at the damage to the building and said it was a miracle that no-one was killed.
"I just ran down the street. I didn't know what to expect. And when I seen, you know, all the emergency responders there, and the state of the village I was just shocked. It was like a war zone," she said.
Ms Guckian said local businesses and households will need "significant assistance" to repair the damage caused, and said she hoped that political representatives will visit the village today.
She said an inspection of affected properties will take place and full extent of the damage will not be known until the inspections are completed.
However, significant damage has been done to her property, she said, with windows blown out and fences down.
"It's a complete mess out the back you know, when you see block walls knocked and windows blown out and fences down. It's bad."
Ms Guckian said many people had to evacuate their homes after the weather event.
"Everyone on the main street has been affected," she said.
Eileen Gibbons, who owns a building in the village, welcomed the news of the Taoiseach's visit.
Speaking on RTE's Today with Claire Byrne, Ms Gibbons said five businesses in the village centre will be badly hit in the run up to Christmas, while some people are currently unable to access their homes.
Ms Gibbons said her premises is a large building comprising of four businesses and four apartments.
"The slates were all lifted off the roof... the whole front of the roof, the slates had just been lifted off. The windows in the upstairs had all been smashed in," she said.
Part of the roof of a shed at the back of the building was ripped off and "we haven't seen it since", she added.
She said she does not know if the damage is covered by insurance.
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Senior forecaster with Met Éireann Gerry Murphy said mini tornadoes in Ireland occur at around ten a year.
He said yesterday's event in Leitrim was created as a result of a thunderstorm combined with wind shear.
Speaking on the same programme, he said: "Once there is wind shear - this is the different direction and wind at different heights - this causes the rotation and once the thunderstorm then starts to rotate, the vortex develops and once that vortex then pushes down into the ground and once it hits the ground, then there's that spinning wind on the surface."
Mr Murphy said that once the vortex hits the ground it "literally sweeps up everything in its path".
Watch: Storm Fergus hits Leitrim marina
Children will be able to attend school in Leitrim village but half of the village will have to take a detour to get there, said the acting director of services with responsibility for Transport, Planning and Economic Development at Leitrim County Council.
Justin Fannon said assessments of the village and road will be carried out throughout the morning.
He said engineers will examine the structural stability of buildings damaged in the storm.
No one in Leitrim or Ireland would expect a mini tornado to hit, Mr Fannon said, and it was a miracle that no one was badly injured or killed.
Additional reporting PA, Samantha Libreri
