Restoration of power after Storm Amy could take until early next week

Tens of thousands of properties were still without power as a clean-up got under way across the island of Ireland on Saturday after Storm Amy struck.

Irish police reported that a man died during the storm which also brought localised flooding, fallen trees, transport disruption and school closures.

Republic of Ireland forecasting agency Met Eireann put its highest-level warning in place for Donegal between 4pm and 6pm on Friday.

An Garda Siochana said they were treating an incident where a man was seriously injured in the Letterkenny area of the county, shortly after 4.15pm, as weather-related.

Gardai later said he had died and his body was removed to the mortuary at Letterkenny University Hospital, where a post-mortem examination will be carried out in due course.

The Electricity Supply Board (ESB) and NIE Networks said that there were hundreds of thousands without power across the island at the height of the storm’s impact.

That number had fallen significantly by midday on Saturday, with 49,000 without power in the Republic of Ireland.

NIE Networks said 18,000 were without power at lunchtime.

An ESB spokesman said it could be early next week before all customers have their power restored, while NIE  Networks also said it could be Monday evening “at the latest”. .

The ESB said the worst affected areas were in counties Donegal, Leitrim, Roscommon, Galway and Mayo.

“We expect to continue to make significant progress and believe that the majority of customers who do not have their supply restored today will have power restored by tomorrow night.

“However, some customers in the worst affected areas may be without power into the early part of next week.

“This is likely to include some customers in Donegal, which saw the highest wind speeds recorded during Storm Amy, and in areas across the north-west.”

NIE Networks urged the public to stay clear of any power lines or damaged electricity equipment and report sightings immediately.

At its peak, Storm Amy caused a loss of supply to approximately 65,000 customers across Northern Ireland.

As of 8.30am, 22,000 properties remained without power in the region.

Alex Houston, NIE Networks operations manager, said: “This is still an evolving picture, given the ongoing yellow alert, however we anticipate it may take a number of days before the restoration process fully concludes based on similar events such as Storm Darragh.”

Storm Amy brought gusts of up to 148kmh (91mph) and sustained winds of 94kmh (59mph) in the most exposed coastal areas.

On Saturday, a status orange wind warning was put in place for Donegal, Leitrim and Sligo between 4am and 8am.

A yellow-level warning for wind and rain in those counties expired at midday.

Also expired at midday were separate yellow-level wind warnings for Dublin, Louth and Wicklow as well as Clare, Kerry, Galway and Mayo.

In Northern Ireland, a yellow-level rain warning for the entire region which came into effect on Friday lapsed at noon.

This is followed by the expiration of a yellow wind warning for all Northern Ireland counties at midnight.

The PSNI continued to urge caution as the storm recovery phase got under way.

A spokesperson said: “Storm Amy clean-up operations will be intensifying this morning as multiple agencies work to restore the power, water and transport networks for all users across Northern Ireland.”

The PSNI said ongoing warnings may lead to further disruption and complicate restoration efforts.

“We are particularly urging road users to exercise extra care and attention when driving.

“Surface water, flooding, fallen debris or temporary restrictions are all a strong possibility.”