International Shia News Agency

UK weather: Stormy conditions hit power supplies

Power providers in north-west England and Northern Ireland have been working to reconnect those affected.

SHAFAQNA – Hundreds of homes in parts of the UK have been left without electricity after severe gales.

Gusts of up to 84mph were recorded in the Outer Hebrides, 70mph in Londonderry and 67mph in Ceredigion.

Meanwhile, a 61-year-old man died at an East Yorkshire seaside resort after being hit by masonry. It is not know whether the death is weather related.

The BBC Weather Centre said the high winds were due to low pressure in the Atlantic which is pushing a weather front from west to east across the UK.

A spokeswoman for BBC Weather said: “This is a very typical autumnal set up, but as we have had an exceptionally dry September and the trees are still in leaf, wind and rain events like this can, and have, caused some disruption.”

Weather warnings

Northern Ireland Electricity said 800 customers were without power as of 16:00 BST – down from more than 7,000 earlier.

Electricity North West said 60 customers remained without electricity – down from 3,000 earlier.

• In the eastern counties of Northern Ireland, power lines and street lights have been knocked down

• Police say masonry struck a man and a vehicle near Pleasureland, on Cliff Street, Bridlington, East Yorkshire, at about 13:00 BST. He later died.

• Flooding and strong winds have caused serious disruption across south Wales

• In Cumbria, two schools were closed and large amounts of debris were left on roads

• Ferry sailings in the Hebrides and the west coast of Scotland have been badly affected, and the Skye Bridge was closed to traffic for several hours

The Met Office has issued a yellow warning, meaning “be aware”, for severe gale force winds – to come into effect at 21:00 BST – for parts of north-east Scotland.

A further yellow warning for rain, for north-east Scotland, will come into effect at 02:00 on Tuesday.

A spokeswoman for Northern Ireland Electricity said it had been in “regular contact” with the Met Office over the weekend.

She said there were 140 individual faults on the network, mainly in coastal and isolated areas.

“We have restored power to over 7,000 customers since the storm hit in the early hours of the morning, but the repair process may take some time due to the isolated nature of the faults and the severity of the damage in some areas,” she added.

There is also disruption to public transport after overhead wires were damaged.

National Rail said only one train an hour was able to run between Penrith and Oxenholme, affecting services from London Euston to Edinburgh and Glasgow.

As a result, buses are replacing trains between Preston and Carlisle.

 

Source: BBC News

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