Storm Isha: Thousands without power and over 150 flights cancelled as wind causes damage across Ireland

Clean-up efforts are to continue on Monday after Storm Isha swept through the country on Sunday, bringing “severe and destructive” gusts that left hundreds of thousands without power and caused disruption to travel amid countrywide weather warnings.

[ Live coverage: Some 235,000 properties without power on Monday morning after Storm Isha  ]

The west of the country bore the brunt of Storm Isha, with many households suffering power outages, travel severely affected and dangerous coastal conditions reported.

While the ESB is working to restore power where possible, it is expected that many will be without power overnight. The electricity provider said that counties Mayo, Galway, Roscommon and Kerry were among the worst-affected regions in the country.

A status red warning for wind was in place in counties Mayo and Galway between 5pm and 9pm on Sunday, while in Co Donegal, a red warning was in effect between 9pm and 1am on Monday morning. The rest of the country was under an orange wind warning from 5pm until early on Monday morning.

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More than 170,000 homes, farms and businesses were hit by power outages caused by the storm, the ESB said on Sunday evening, with many expected to be without electricity into Monday. It warned that more customers were likely to be impacted by power cuts on Sunday night due to high winds.

Counties Mayo, Galway, Roscommon and Kerry were among the regions worst affected by outages, an ESB spokesperson said.

A man his 40s died when the car he was driving crashed on the N17 at Lisduff, Claremorris, Co Mayo on Sunday, but it was not clear if weather conditions were a factor in the incident.

At Dublin Airport, 148 flights were cancelled by 9.30pm – 75 incoming flights and 73 scheduled departures. High winds resulted in 27 flights performing go-arounds – an aborted landing of an aircraft – while 35 flights bound for Dublin chose to divert to other airports.

At Cork Airport, at least 10 flights were cancelled – four inbound, six outbound – and six scheduled arrivals were diverted.

Bus Éireann cancelled a number of services in counties under a red warning. Speed restrictions were in effect on some Iarnród Éireann trains serving stations in the west, with further disruption reported on Dart services in Dublin.

Local authorities, gardaí and fire and rescue services responded to reports of fallen trees in several affected areas on Sunday, including in counties Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Galway, Mayo, Donegal, Meath, Cavan and Dublin. Some roads were closed for a time on Sunday on account of fallen trees, including parts of the N59 in Co Galway.

In Northern Ireland, where the UK’s Met Office issued an amber warning for wind, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) received numerous reports of fallen trees, with disruption caused across the region’s road network. Aer Lingus and British Airways cancelled flights to and from George Best Belfast City Airport, while flights were also cancelled at City of Derry Airport.

The National Emergency Co-ordination Group met on Sunday morning, with representatives from Met Éireann, the Office of Public Works, local authorities, principal response agencies and key Government departments present. Paul Rock, who chaired the meeting, said Sunday’s inclement weather was a “particularly nasty” storm.

A status yellow wind warning for counties Clare, Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo and Sligo remains in place until 7pm on Monday evening. Schools were expected to remain open on Monday morning.

In Northern Ireland, the high winds brought by Storm Isha caused “widespread damage” to the electricity network, with approximately 45,000 customers without power as of around 10pm on Sunday, Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) Networks said.

It warned this number could rise as the storm progresses, and said while hundreds of extra staff have been deployed, the extent of the damage and the adverse weather conditions mean many customers could remain without supply overnight.

“Damage includes broken overhead power lines, fallen trees across lines and broken poles,” NIE networks said.

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