Nearly one million homes and businesses without power across island of Ireland
Nearly one million homes and businesses without power across island of Ireland
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Almost one million homes, farms and businesses in the Republic and Northern Ireland are without power as record-breaking wind speeds swept across the island. ESB Networks in Ireland and NIE Networks say they expect significant further outages as Storm Eowyn continues to batter parts of the island, with 725,000 customers affected in the Republic and 240,000 in Northern Ireland.
Some homes and businesses are expected to be without power for a week as an unprecedented number of power cuts are experienced. While the red warnings have been downgraded in some 25 counties, many homes and business have been badly damaged by fallen trees and electrical lines.
A wind speed of 183kmh (114mph) was recorded in Ireland, the fastest since records began, according to the Irish forecaster Met Eireann. Satellite imagery suggests a dangerous weather phenomenon known as a sting jet developed over Ireland on Friday, the Met Office has said.
Sting jets are small corridors of intense or extreme wind and usually cause widespread damage when they hit land. When the red warnings expire, much of the country will remain under serious orange level warnings, and attention will turn to surveying the damage.
A multimillion-euro indoor playing facility in Co Mayo was among many structural causalities. Strong winds ripped through Connacht GAA’s Air Dome in Bekan, near Ballyhaunis. The 3.1 million euro NUI Galway dome, which opened in 2020, hosted indoor games for all levels and ages in all weathers and is understood to be the largest sports air dome in the world.
