Storm Eleanor wreaks havoc on roads and power lines across NI

Over 25,000 homes across the Province were left without power and around 40 roads were closed as strong winds hit Northern Ireland on Tuesday night.

A sizeable chunk of a factory roof at Harland and Wolff in east Belfast was ripped off.

The mammoth mobile building was not in use at the time.

Outside Northern Ireland 55,000 properties in the Republic and 2,500 properties between Cornwall and the Midlands were blighted by power outages.

Stormont’s Department for Infrastructure said the south and east of the Province were worst affected, although most main roads remained open. In Londonderry the lower deck of the Craigavon Bridge was closed due to flooding.

By lunchtime on Wednesday, 21 roads in the eastern area were affected by flooding or fallen trees – including six in Belfast, six in Lisburn and others in Drumbo, Lambeg and Greenisland.

Sixteen roads were affected in the southern area, including Downpatrick, Armagh, Jerrettspass and Portadown. In the western area several roads around Ballygawley and Coalisland were impacted.

Northern Ireland Electricty said at 6pm on Wednesday that power had been restored to over 25,000 homes and businesses, while 1,6000 customers remained without electricity. The areas affected were broadly the same as where roads were closed.

The Executive Office at Stormont said a regional multi-agency conference call was convened shortly after the Met Office first issued the storm warning, to enable the emergency services and government to co-ordinate.

“All organisations worked through the night, often in very challenging and difficult conditions, to ensure the impact of the storm was dealt with as quickly as possible,” it said.