It will take days to assess all Storm Eowyn damage in Northern Ireland – police

Thousands of radical person been near without powerfulness and roads person been blocked aft Storm Eowyn battered Northern Ireland.

At its peak, much than 280,000 homes and businesses successful the portion were near without powerfulness and hundreds of trees felled during the storm, causing harm to properties and infrastructure.

The fig of properties without powerfulness has reduced to astir 250,000 arsenic of Friday evening, but it could instrumentality up to 10 days to reconnect each those affected.

Police said it could instrumentality days to measure the afloat interaction of the tempest damage, which volition look arsenic authorities absorption connected clean-up efforts.

The Department of Infrastructure said determination are much than 1,800 fallen trees, branches and different debris blocking roads, adding that it would instrumentality clip to wide and reopen roads.

The strongest gust of upwind recorded connected Friday was 92.2mph astatine Killowen successful Co Down.

A Met Office reddish informing that covered the full portion from 7am lifted astatine 2pm, portion a yellow-level snow-ice informing came into effect from 7pm and remains successful spot until 10am connected Saturday.

Schools, colleges, courts and galore shops were closed connected Friday portion immoderate wellness appointments were postponed. Public transport was suspended during the top-level reddish informing for wind.

Dozens of flights were cancelled astatine Belfast International and Belfast City airports.

The Aurora Leisure Centre successful Bangor, Co Down, sustained important harm to its roof, and respective ample trees crashed down successful Cyprus Avenue, a tree-lined thoroughfare successful eastbound Belfast made celebrated by a Van Morrison song.

NIE Networks activated its exigency plans successful effect to the storm, and efforts to reconstruct powerfulness person commenced pursuing the extremity of the reddish upwind warning.

At 3pm connected Friday, determination were astir 283,000 customers without powerfulness successful the region.

Alex Houston, web operations manager for NIE Networks, urged radical to enactment wide of immoderate damaged instrumentality oregon breached lines.

“Where trees person fallen they whitethorn person impacted connected a powerfulness enactment adjacent if harm isn’t instantly obvious, truthful delight look retired for powerfulness lines and, if successful doubt, enactment clear,” helium said.

“We volition lone beryllium capable to statesman to mobilise our crews erstwhile the reddish alert passes.

“At that signifier we volition beryllium focusing connected making the web harmless but our plea is for everyone to stay vigilant and wide of immoderate energy lines.”

In beforehand of the storm, constabulary said Friday was expected to person the strongest winds successful the portion since the Boxing Day tempest successful 1998, which caused wide disruption.

Earlier, First Minister Michelle O’Neill and lawman First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly urged radical to enactment astatine location until the tempest subsided.

“The standard of the storm, the level of upwind that we’ve experienced crossed the land … is thing that’s ne'er been seen before,” Ms O’Neill told BBC Radio Ulster.

Ms Little-Pengelly described it arsenic a “very superior storm”.

Police warned radical to beryllium cautious emerging aft the tempest lifted, arsenic structures could beryllium weakened aft beardown gusts.

Assistant Chief Constable Davy Beck, who is successful complaint of the tempest effect operation, said connected Friday evening “we are inactive not retired of the imaginable risks successful respect of this storm”.

“Police person received successful the portion of 2,000 calls for work truthful acold today, which is astir 50% supra what we would usually expect to person connected a mean Friday,” helium said.

“Many roads close crossed Northern Ireland bash proceed to beryllium impassable, with fallen trees debris and powerfulness lines down.”

He said determination were nary reported injuries of officers oregon their colleagues astatine different agencies arsenic they responded to incidents.

He added: “We’re lone present starting to spot the fig of calls commencement to emergence successful respect of impacts, concerns for safety, and indeed, much and much reports successful respect of roads blocked and issues arsenic a effect of that.

“So I deliberation it’s going to beryllium a fig of days earlier we tin afloat recognize the afloat impacts of this storm, but surely this was a terrible storm.”