Storm Amy leaves 100,000 without power as cleanup under way in Ireland

Around 100,000 properties were still without power as a cleanup after Storm Amy got under way across the island of Ireland on Saturday.

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 morgue 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 to just below 100,000 before 9am on Saturday, with 22,000 without power in Northern Ireland and 87,000 in the Republic of Ireland.

Crews warned it could take days before power is restored to every customer.

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 was set to expire at midday.

Also expiring 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 was set to expire at midday on Saturday.

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.”