Storm Darragh: Thousands without power in Northern Ireland

BBC NIE workers watch as cherry pickers in highways hi-jackets repair damaged power poles. — NIE says it may take several days to reconnect all affected customers.

NIE Networks will open community support centers across Northern Ireland on Sunday as around 22,000 homes remain without power after the storm.

Constant gusts The NIE said there was “massive damage” on Saturday, leaving 48,000 homes without power.

Engineering teams have restored connections to more than 25,000 properties, but NIE estimates it could take several days to reconnect all affected customers.

Operations manager Alex Houston told BBC News NIE that on Saturday evening, NIE had deployed 600 staff and was working to bring in additional personnel from across the UK.

“Our initial focus will be on restoring high voltage customers and then working on the low voltage network, it will take some time to assess the damage there,” Mr Houston added.

NIE has asked customers to “bear with them” as they work to reconnect the network.

Property and vehicles were damaged during the storm

Pacemaker A black car half-tilted in mid-air, wrapped around a large fallen tree, a fence and a parked white car are also visible. — Property and vehicles were damaged during the storm

Support centers

NIE will open community support across Northern Ireland on Sunday.

From 14:00 to 16:00 GMT on December 8, recreation centers in the following areas will be open to provide assistance to those still without power:

Southlake Leisure Center in Craigavon
Lagan Valley Laserplex in Lisburn
Ards Blair Mine in Newtownards
The Seven Towers in Ballymena
Cookstown Leisure Centre
Kiel Kiel Recreation Center
Fermanagh Lakeland Forum

Additionally, Coleraine Leisure Center will be open on Sundays from noon to 15:00 GMT.

The centers will provide hot drinks, charging and changing facilities and NIE Networks staff will be on hand to answer any questions.

The Red Cross will also work with the NIE to provide support in a number of locations across Northern Ireland.

An amber warning for wind – the second highest level of weather alert – was issued from 01:00 GMT until 15:00 on Saturday.

Yellow Wind Warning in effect until 6:00 AM Sunday.

The Department for Infrastructure (DfI) said it responded to around 900 incidents, mainly involving road debris, fallen trees and flooding.

Essential travel was only advised on Saturday and there were several traffic accidents on the road.

Oh A number of roads are closed. And road users are advised to plan their journey in advance.

Storm Darragh is causing widespread disruption in Northern Ireland.

At one point on Saturday morning, there were no trains running in Northern Ireland but many lines have now resumed with delays.

Bus service, flights and ferries were also affected.

Power generation at Ballylamford, one of Northern Ireland’s main power stations, was temporarily suspended after structural damage was reported to a small chimney at a natural gas-fired power station.

A number of festive events were canceled and councils closed some facilities on Saturday and Sunday.

All six Irish Premiership games were cancelled, with fans being delayed by the delay “terrible situation”According to Communities Minister Gordon Lyons.