By Padraic Halpin
DUBLIN (Reuters) -Record high winds from Storm Eowyn battered Ireland and Northern Ireland on Friday, leaving almost one-third of Irish homes and businesses without power and forcing cancellation of hundreds of flights and the closure of schools and public transport.
Officials had warned the storm was set to be one of the most dangerous they have faced and the Irish weather agency, Met Eireann, said a gust of 182 kph (113 mph) overnight at Mace Head in County Galway provisionally broke an 80-year-old record.
Streets in Dublin were deserted during the usual morning rush hour, as stores kept their shutters down and people heeded a warning to stay indoors until a red wind warning – the highest alert level – is lifted for most of Ireland from 1100 GMT.
It was the first time a red warning had been put in place for the entire country since Storm Ophelia in 2017, which killed three people.
ESB Networks, which provides energy for the whole of Ireland, said “unprecedented” damage to its network had led to power outages affecting 715,000 homes, farms and businesses. It expected more power cuts as the storm tracks northwards.
A further 93,000 properties were without power in Northern Ireland.
A spokesperson for ESB said it would take at least a week to restore power for some customers.
Eowyn is the fourth storm in the past four months to knock out power in parts of Ireland. Climate scientists say the link between climate change and the frequency and intensity of violent storms such as Eowyn is still unclear.
Research shows sea levels are set to rise by at least 1 metre around Ireland this century. Met Eireann warned on Friday of the knock-on risk of coastal flooding.
All schools in Ireland and Northern Ireland were closed on Friday and public transport will not run in Ireland while the red warning remains in place. Non-urgent hospital procedures were also cancelled.
Around 230 flights scheduled to depart from and arrive into Dublin Airport were cancelled, the airport said, adding that further cancellations and delays were possible. Dozens of flights to and from airports at Belfast, Edinburgh and Glasgow were also cancelled.
A red warning is in place for British-run Northern Ireland until 1400 GMT and also came into force for Scotland from 1000 until 1700 GMT, the UK Met Office said.
(Reporting by Padraic Halpin, additional reporting by Sarah Young in LondonEditing by Gareth Jones)
