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Swans swim through floodwater around the River Severn in Worcester [Joe Giddens/PA Wire]
THERE’S JUST OVER 50 households on Achill Sound still without power this morning in the wake of the stormy weather that swept over the country on Monday night and into yesterday morning. At one stage yesterday, more than 13,000 customers in the West were left in the dark, after lightning strikes knocked systems offline.
Crews from ESB Networks have been out this morning working to reconnect the last remaining households. Other clusters of customers were brought back online overnight in counties Donegal, Cork, Clare and elsewhere.
The storm system caused major problems across the Irish Sea. There are three ‘severe flood warnings’ in place in the southeast and southwest of England this morning, and a further 107 lower level ‘flood warnings’ still in effect, according to the UK Environment Agency. Some 50,000 homes were without power this morning as a result of the storms, according to BBC News.
The weather caused four deaths in Britain, including a man who jumped into a fast-flowing river to try and rescue his dog. In Normandy, France, a 12-year-old boy was crushed to death beneath construction materials.
Thousands of people trying to get away for the holidays in the UK were affected by reduced or cancelled train services due to landslides, fallen trees and flooded roads. Meanwhile, power outages at London Gatwick Airport’s North Terminal caused 26 cancellations and many more delays.
Gatwick has been running a full service today, but passengers were being advised to check with their airlines before flying in the wake of yesterday’s problems.
A number of flights scheduled to land at Dublin Airport yesterday were diverted to Shannon and Belfast as a result of the conditions — but in general, schedules at Irish airports stayed pretty much on track as people made their way home for Christmas.
Here’s what they’ve been dealing with in England over the last 24 hours or so:
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