Woman dies in severe storms

A woman in her 30s was killed when a falling tree struck her car as severe storms lashed the country, police in the North revealed tonight.

The tragedy came as winds of up to 170mph cut electricity supplies to around 100,000 homes across Ireland and fallen trees and debris damaged powerlines and blocked roads.

The woman was alone in her car when the tree hit the vehicle on the Strangford Road, Downpatrick, Co Down, at around 4pm.

She has yet to be named, but her death comes after a driver in Dublin narrowly escaped injury when an overhead gantry crashed onto Naas Road.

Areas across Ireland, north and south, were battered by storms which brought down electricity lines, uprooted trees and toppled telephone poles, while coastal roads were among those that suffered flooding.

In Northern Ireland, winds of 70mph were recorded, but in Co Mayo record gusts of 170mph were detected.

Police in the North and Gardaí have closed roads, while they also warned motorists to take care as conditions worsened.

Up to 70,000 homes are without electricity in Ireland, while 24,000 households in Northern Ireland were left without power as winds caused damage.

A spokesman for ESB said areas such as Kerry and Cork were among the first to be affected, but that parts of Sligo later suffered power failure as winds and debris damaged overhead lines.

The storms were expected to eventually to spread along the coast to hit west Ulster, affecting Donegal.

But by tonight areas in the north-east including counties Down and Antrim were also feeling the affects of the severe weather.

A fallen tree blocked the Dublin-Limerick train line, while flooding and fallen trees and poles blocked roads in areas across the south.

A helicopter was sent to help a cargo vessel said to be in difficulties near Inishvickillane, off the Kerry coast.

The ESB said its workers were doing their utmost, within safety limits, to restore services.

A spokesman said: “We are doing as much work as we can, as fast as we can.”

It is hoped power will be restored before tonight for ESB customers, but some were warned that conditions may make it impossible to restore electricity supplies in all areas until tomorrow.

Coast roads in counties Down and Antrim were flooded, while the gale force winds also caused power cuts in areas including Down and Armagh.

Police in Belfast appealed for contractors to ensure tools, wood and scaffolding were safely secured on building sites after a number of items were blown across roads posing a danger to the public.

Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) said power was lost in the Craigavon and Downpatrick areas, while Ballyclare, Bangor and Newry had also been affected.

NIE said: “Northern Ireland Electricity emergency teams are on the ground to assess the damage. Once the wind speed has eased and it safe to do so, they will start repairs.”

A spokesperson added: “We have already restored electricity to 5,000 customers and are working on the other faults as quickly as it is safe to do so.”

As problems were reported across an increasingly wide area, including Co Tyrone, police issued an appeal for drivers across Northern Ireland to stay off the roads unless their journeys were absolutely necessary.

A police spokesman said: “Due to severe weather, road conditions are currently considered to be dangerous due to an exceptionally high number of hazards on the roads, such as fallen trees.

“Drivers throughout Northern Ireland are urged not to drive unless necessary and to use extreme care, particularly on rural roads.”