Two people have died and thousands are without electricity on the Irish island after Storm Ali battered the British Isles.
One man in his twenties was killed and another in his forties was injured in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, on Wednesday after a tree fell on them as they were working at a water pumping station for Northern Ireland Water.
A woman in her fifties was also killed in the Republic of Ireland. Elvira Ferraii, from Switzerland, died after her caravan at a campsite in Claddaghduff in County Galway, was blown over a cliff.
9,500 homes without electricity
Northern Ireland Electricity said on Thursday morning that they had restored power to over 80,000 properties since Storm Ali first made landfall on Wednesday morning, but that nearly 10,000 homes remained without electricity.
“Our emergency crews have worked throughout the night to reduce the number of homes and businesses without electricity due to Storm Ali to 9,5K,” the company posted on Twitter, adding that a helicopter had been brought it from neighbouring Great Britain to speed up the process.
Roads blocked
Storm Ali — the first storm to be named by the Met Office this season — started battering the UK with rain and wind on Wednesday morning as it moved north-eastward through the Irish island.
A wind gust of 91mph (146kph) was recorded in Killowen in County Down on Wednesday, which the Met Office said was “the strongest wind gust in September in Northern Ireland since records began in 1880s.”
The weather conditions have led to properties and cars being damaged and traffic to be hindered. Trains and flights have also been impacted.
The National Ploughing Championships had to be cancelled on Wednesday due to damage caused by the storm. The event will instead start on Thursday.
The Met Office said Thursday morning that Storm Ali had now left the UK but put yellow warnings in place for most of England and Wales as Storm Bronagh approaches, bringing persistent and heavy rain.
