Storms cut power to thousands of homes

The winds caused havoc on coastal roads

Several thousand homes remain without electricity in Northern Ireland because of the strong winds.

Most of the 2,100 homes still affected by the power cuts are in the Craigavon and Coleraine areas.

Northern Ireland Electricity said they had now located all the faults and were working to fix them.

Approximately 35,000 customers were affected at various stages throughout Sunday night and Monday due to 80mph winds.

We would also warn people if anyone notices fallen lines, to steer well clear of them and contact us immediately

ESB spokesman

Although the storms were widespread, mid-Ulster and Fermanagh were worst affected.

There are also isolated faults affecting customers throughout the province.

Hundreds of engineers have been working since the early hours of Monday morning to repair broken power lines and the number of customers affected is now falling.

However NIE has warned that some faults may take time to fix because there are still fallen poles which need to be replaced.

NIE said all routine programme work had been postponed to allow staff to concentrate on getting remaining customers back on supply as soon as possible.

Traffic and travel services have also been affected by the strong winds.

Cancelled

Fallen trees and power cables have blocked some roads and ferry services have been cancelled - although sailings are expected to resume by Monday evening.

It is understood some flights from Belfast International and the City Airports have been affected.

Some flights from Londonderry have been cancelled due to high winds.

NIE has set up a fault helpline on 08457 643643.

Winds have been easing but the Met Office says they will remain fresh to strong on Monday evening.

Meanwhile, premises in the Republic of Ireland have also been affected.

In County Donegal, more than 1,000 homes lost power and more people have been cut off in the west of the country.

The Electricity Supply Board (ESB) said repair crews were battling against high winds to repair the cables.

Much of the work is being carried out in the Carrick-on-Shannon area of Leitrim, the Ballinrobe area of County Mayo and the Loughrea and Gort areas of County Galway, where services were worst hit.

An ESB spokesman said: "Since early morning ESB crews have been dispatched and are working on restoring power.

"We would also warn people if anyone notices fallen lines, to steer well clear of them and contact us immediately."