ALMOST 450,000 homes were without power, flights were cancelled and a bus crashed after gusts of 141kph hit Ireland.
Storm Darragh ravaged its way through the country overnight, leaving major disruption in its wake.
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Across the 32 counties, teams were working to restore power, with 395,000 homes in the south waking up without power this morning.
However, around 70,000 were switched back on by lunchtime.
This was worse than Storm Ophelia in 2017, which saw 385,000 homes without power.
And a meeting of the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management said that it could take days to restore power to all.
Their teams and the ESB were today repairing as much damage as possible, clearing roads and restoring power lines, with help from the Defence Forces.
The ESB said in a statement: “As at 5.15pm, approximately 175,000 homes, farms and businesses remain without power following extremely strong and gusty winds associated with Storm Darragh which have caused widespread and extensive damage to the electricity network across the country.
“ESB Networks teams have restored power to 220,000 customers during the day.
“Storm Darragh is similar in impact to Storm Ophelia in 2017, which left 385,000 customers without power, but with more widespread impact across the country.
“The impact is nationwide and there has been extensive damage to electricity infrastructure so far.
“With Met Eireann wind warnings remaining in place for the entire country until this afternoon, further power outages can be expected from potentially damaging gusts.
“ESB Networks crews and partner contractors have been deployed since early morning to assess the damage of Storm Darragh, make the network safe and restore electricity supply in challenging conditions.
“All ESB Networks teams are mobilised and continuing to monitor the storm impact on power supplies.
EXTENSIVE DAMAGE
“From our experience of previous significant weather events and due to the severity of Storm Darragh, we expect that power restoration will take multiple days.”
Eir also announced that services had been affected.
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They said: “Storm Darragh has caused widespread service disruptions across Ireland, with Mayo and Donegal among the hardest-hit counties, but impacts have been felt nationwide.
“Over 35,000 broadband faults, 20,000 fixed voice and approximately 500 mobile network site outages have been registered.
“The full scale of the impact will emerge over the coming days, once power is restored and roadways are cleared. Power generators are being deployed to impacted mobile sites.
“The storm has caused extensive localised damage, particularly in the west, with downed cables, poles, and other critical infrastructure.”
‘BE VERY CAREFUL’
Director of the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management Keith Leonard advised people not to carry out repairs themselves.
Speaking on RTE Radio this morning, he said: “The dangerous part of these operations is actually the recovery period, when people who maybe haven’t used ladders or chainsaws in a long time go out to try and do repairs to their properties, so we ask people to be very careful.”
Met Eireann recorded the highest winds of 141kph in Mace Head, Galway at around 11pm on Friday night.
Across the country the power of the storm was seen, with Dublin Airport cancelling a number of flights, including to Heathrow, Zurich and Washington.
Cork Airport’s flights were largely unaffected, but an early morning Aer Lingus flight to Bristol was cancelled.
Bus Eireann was forced to cancel a number of services, including Wexford to Dublin Airport, the Mullingar-Dundalk route and services out of Sligo.
In Cashel, services between the Tipperary town and Limerick and Dundrum had to be cancelled due to a fallen tree.
‘ESSENTIAL TRAVEL ONLY’
Another tree disrupted services out of Dublin Connolly on all northbound routes, while those headed to the West saw significant delays.
Uprooted trees were a problem, with a number blocking roads in Galway, Sligo and Cavan.
In Doonbeg, Clare, a wedding had to evacuate their marquee at the Trump International Hotel due to safety concerns.
In the North, an airport bus collided with a home in Templepatrick.
The coach veered off the road and the windscreen was smashed after the collision, which happened at around 3am yesterday morning.
The driver has since been discharged from hospital.
Translink said: “Our immediate priority is the welfare of our colleague and we are providing support to them and their family.
“An internal investigation is under way, and we are working closely with the relevant authorities to establish the circumstances of the incident.”
CHRISTMAS CHAOS
In Belfast, the Christmas markets were closed due to the extreme weather, while all six football matches in the NIFL Premiership were postponed.
The PSNI called for “essential travel only” and warned people to stay away from the water.
A spokesperson said: “Due to the potential for large waves, flooding of coastal roads is also possible — please remember not to drive through flood water.
“The power of water is often on show during a storm, as waves crash against harbour walls, piers and cliffs. It looks spectacular, but surges can easily sweep a person off their feet.”
In the UK, videos showed planes struggling to land at Heathrow, while the Premier League football match between Everton and Liverpool was postponed at Goodison Park.
In a statement, Liverpool FC said it was “due to the risk to safety in the local area,” while Everton said: “While we appreciate this will be deeply disappointing for supporters, the safety of fans, staff and players is of paramount importance.”
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