Storm Isha leaves trail of destruction and 235,000 without power

Storm Isha has left a trail of destruction after battering the country overnight.

There have been fallen trees in many counties, with power outages and powerlines down along with spot flooding.

The strongest gust recorded overnight was 150 kilometres per hour in Clew Bay.

The ESB said that as of 6.30am, 235,000 homes, farms and businesses were without power this morning.

The worst impacted areas are in the northwest of the country.

Crews are mobilising to assess any damage and begin restorations.

The ESB has drafted hundreds of additional contracting resources to assist crews in restoring power to people as quickly and safely as possible.

However, it could be a number of days before power is fully restored to all households.

While the red and orange wind warnings issued for some counties yesterday are now over, yellow alerts are still in place for Clare, Donegal, Leitrim, Mayo and Sligo.

The warning for the five counties came into effect at 2.30am and will run until 7pm tonight.

Sunvalley Drive in Cork City was closed to traffic on Sunday evening due a fallen tree blocking the road. Picture. Pic: Larry Cummins

Sunvalley Drive in Cork City was closed to traffic on Sunday evening due a fallen tree blocking the road. Picture. Pic: Larry Cummins

These areas can expect very strong gusty winds with a risk of debris and loose objects displaced.

Sinn Féin representative Joe Lynch, has advised caution for those using the roads in and out of Innishmore in Ballincollig in Cork this morning.

He says there will be difficulty accessing Scoil Barra, Ballincollig Community School, Lé Chéile Secondary School and Our Lady of Good Counsel school.

Mr Lynch says it is because construction barriers and cones blew into the road causing significant disruption in the area after Storm Isha.

As the red warning has been lifted in Donegal, the director of service for roads and transport Bryan Cannon said Donegal County Council will meet this morning to respond to the aftermath of the storm.

The Road Safety Authority advised all road users to be aware of the dangers once the storm has passed as there may be hazardous conditions such as flooded roads and downed pylons, lines, trees and other debris on roads.

A man, aged in his 40s, was killed in single-car collision in Mayo on Sunday evening.

The single-vehicle collision occurred shortly before 6.15pm on the N17 at Lisduff, Claremorris.

The man, who was the sole occupant of the car, was pronounced dead at the scene.

A lamppost comes crashing down in Galway city during Storm Isha. Picture: Ray Ryan

A lamppost comes crashing down in Galway city during Storm Isha. Picture: Ray Ryan

Overall, people can expect better weather today but it is important to take care as the damage of Storm Isha will continue to impact travel conditions.

“The winds have eased this morning but it will still be a very windy day with a mix of sunny spells and showers,” said Alan O’Reilly from Carlow Weather.

“An improving situation but still some strong winds. There may still be trees and debris that are loose that could be brought down this morning.

“People should take great care this morning as overnight there will be a lot of debris on the roads.”

There will be a chance of hail and isolated thunderstorms in some places but most places will become dry this evening.

There will be some rain and drizzle overnight spreading northeastwards to all areas.

A shipping container seems to tumble through a fence in the Dublin port area following Storm Isha. Picture: Damien Storan.

A shipping container seems to tumble through a fence in the Dublin port area following Storm Isha. Picture: Damien Storan.

Strong gusty winds will become calm for a time but a strong southerly wind will develop later in the night.

Tuesday is set to be another wet and windy day with widespread rain during the morning and afternoon, followed by scattered showers in the evening.

Passengers flying out of any Irish airport are advised to check directly with their airline, regarding the status of their flight this morning.

Dublin Airport remains open today but warns of potential flight disruptions due to the impact of Storm Isha.

The DAA is advising passengers to arrive at their terminal two hours before short-haul flights and three hours before long-haul journeys.

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