LONDON (AFP) – Hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses across Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland remained without power late Saturday, as emergency responders battled to restore services following Storm Eowyn.
The storm, which Britain’s Met Office said Saturday was “probably the strongest” to hit the UK in at least a decade, battered the region Friday, killing one person, grounding flights and shuttering schools.
Ireland recorded its strongest-ever wind gusts, as both countries braced for the arrival of further potentially disruptive weather over the weekend – the Spanish-named Storm Herminia.
Britain’s Met Office and the Irish Meteorological Service Met Eireann issued fresh warnings for snow, ice, wind and rain as it sweeps through the region Sunday and Monday.
As the clean-up from Eowyn continued, Ireland’s ESB Networks said it had restored power to 366,000 homes, farms and businesses by Saturday evening but that 402,000 still had no electricity.
In Northern Ireland, approximately 140,000 homes remained without power by late afternoon, said electricity provider, NIE Networks.
And in Scotland, around 35,000 properties were still without power as Sunday approached. Road, rail, flights and ferries still faced disruption, the Scottish government said.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke to Northern Ireland’s leaders and Scottish First Minister John Swinney to discuss what further support could be provided, the UK government said.
Swinney warned people in Scotland “should prepare for continued disruption” with the winter weather forecast into the next week.
