Storm Bram: ‘Very dangerous’ winds cause travel disruption and power outages

Approximately 54,000 homes, farms and businesses are without power across the Republic of Ireland as Storm Bram brought “very dangerous” winds to the island, with thousands more disconnected in Northern Ireland.

The entire island of Ireland was placed under weather advisories after forecasting agencies upgraded their warnings on Tuesday as strong winds knocked trees and some areas experienced flooding on roads.

Gusts of up to 119kmh (74mph) were recorded amid general wind speeds of up to 78kmh (48.5mph) at 1pm at the weather station at Sherkin Island.

After a week of persistent rain, Irish forecasting agency Met Eireann said soils across the country were already highly saturated and many rivers were approaching bank-full conditions, so additional rainfall was likely to result in surface and river flooding.

ESB Networks confirmed that as of 4pm approximately 54,000 properties were without power,  predominantly in counties Wexford, Cork, Tipperary, Kildare, Dublin, Meath and Westmeath.

A spokesman said crews had been deployed to assess damage but added that further power outages could be expected.

In Northern Ireland, an outage map by NIE Networks showed thousands more properties disconnected from supply.

The storm resulted in some travel disruption, with 91 flights cancelled at Dublin Airport.

The track of the storm meant forecasters put in place rolling orange wind warnings for different regions throughout the day.

Keith Leonard, head of Ireland’s National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management, said: “The conditions associated with orange-level wind warnings can be very dangerous.

“Potential impacts include the possibility of structural damage, fallen trees and flying debris – presenting a risk to both life and property.

“Driving can be particularly hazardous in these conditions, so I’m asking all drivers to anticipate strong cross-winds and other hazards such as falling or fallen trees.

“High-sided vehicles and motorcyclists are particularly vulnerable to strong winds – so please slow down and give extra space to pedestrians and cyclists.

“I’d also ask the organisers of events and activities to consider the wind warnings that are in place and monitor the local conditions – unfortunately the cancellation of events may be necessary in some locations.”

In Dublin, DART rail services were suspended between Grand Canal Dock and Dun Laoghaire due to a fallen tree.

An orange warning for Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford, Wicklow, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford expired at 4pm.

A separate orange warning for all of Connacht, as well as Cavan, Monaghan, Clare, Dublin, Kildare, Laois, Longford, Louth, Meath and Offaly was put in place until 7pm.

A third orange warning for Donegal was announced for between 2pm and 9pm.

These come on top of a yellow wind warning for the whole country, expiring at 9pm.

Met Eireann forecaster Gerry Murphy said it was a day to be “very, very careful”.

He told RTE’s Morning Ireland: “It is going to be a very windy day everywhere and there is certainly a possibility for all areas to reach those levels for a time.”

Meanwhile, warnings in Irish waters were upgraded with a status orange storm warning for all coasts and on the Irish sea applying until midnight.

In addition, red marine warnings were put in place for some coastal warnings until 6pm.

Forecasters advised that south to south-west winds will occasionally reach violent storm force 11.

In Northern Ireland, the UK Met Office issued a yellow wind warning for the entire region between 9am and 10pm.

A more severe amber warning for wind is in place for the western part of Northern Ireland, applying to counties Antrim, Fermanagh, Londonderry and Tyrone between 2pm and 7pm.

The poor weather has resulted in the closure of the Belfast Christmas Market on Tuesday.

The storm brought flooding on roads in areas such as Portadown and Warrenpoint.

The Met Office advised the public to expect delays to transport services and further warned that cancellations are possible.

It added that there was a chance of injuries and danger to life from flying debris, as well as damage to buildings and power outages.

Forecasters said gusts of around 60-70 mph are possible in the amber region, and potentially in excess of 80mph over coasts and hills.