No power for thousands as NI takes a battering

Thousands of homes and businesses in Northern Ireland lost electricity as Storm Barra passed over the Province yesterday.
By The Newsroom
Published 8th Dec 2021, 07:23 BST
Updated 8th Dec 2021, 07:34 BST
PACEMAKER PRESS BELFAST 07/12/2021 Heavy winds hits Whitehead in Co Antrim on Tuesday. Storm Barra has brought strong winds, heavy rain and snow to Northern Ireland, with a yellow weather warning in place until 09:00 GMT on Wednesday. More than 1,000 customers are without power due to damage to the network, according to NI Electricity. Pic Colm Lenaghan/ PacemakerPACEMAKER PRESS BELFAST 07/12/2021 Heavy winds hits Whitehead in Co Antrim on Tuesday. Storm Barra has brought strong winds, heavy rain and snow to Northern Ireland, with a yellow weather warning in place until 09:00 GMT on Wednesday. More than 1,000 customers are without power due to damage to the network, according to NI Electricity. Pic Colm Lenaghan/ Pacemaker
PACEMAKER PRESS BELFAST 07/12/2021 Heavy winds hits Whitehead in Co Antrim on Tuesday. Storm Barra has brought strong winds, heavy rain and snow to Northern Ireland, with a yellow weather warning in place until 09:00 GMT on Wednesday. More than 1,000 customers are without power due to damage to the network, according to NI Electricity. Pic Colm Lenaghan/ Pacemaker

High waves and fallen trees also caused road closures, while there was further disruption to flights and train services with several cancellations.

Gusts of 76mph at Orlock Head in Co Down and 71mph at Magilligan in Co Londonderry, among the strongest in the UK, were recorded by the Met Office yesterday.

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At one stage yesterday afternoon over 5,000 homes and businesses were without power.

07/12/21 MCAULEY MULTIMEDIA- NORTHERN IRELAND..Storm Barra Batters the North Coast of Northern Ireland on Tuesday, thousands of customers have been left without power and many roads blocked by trees as the storm takes grip- Fallen trees near Ballycastle.Pic Steven McAuley/McAuley Multimedia07/12/21 MCAULEY MULTIMEDIA- NORTHERN IRELAND..Storm Barra Batters the North Coast of Northern Ireland on Tuesday, thousands of customers have been left without power and many roads blocked by trees as the storm takes grip- Fallen trees near Ballycastle.Pic Steven McAuley/McAuley Multimedia
07/12/21 MCAULEY MULTIMEDIA- NORTHERN IRELAND..Storm Barra Batters the North Coast of Northern Ireland on Tuesday, thousands of customers have been left without power and many roads blocked by trees as the storm takes grip- Fallen trees near Ballycastle.Pic Steven McAuley/McAuley Multimedia

In Belfast, the Christmas Market at city hall closed for the day due to weather conditions while in Londonderry police and fire crews dealt with fallen scaffolding at the junction of Academic Road with Rosemount Avenue.

Several National Trust properties, including the Carrick a Rede bridge in north Antrim as well as Mount Stewart house and Castle Ward in Co Down, were closed.

A spokesperson for NIE Networks said the high winds and adverse weather caused a low level of damage to the network.

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By around 3.30pm the number of customers without power had dropped to 3,500.

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 7th December 2021 Members of the public battle the wind and rain in Belfast City Centre as Storm Barra hits Northern Ireland. A yellow weather warning has been put in place until tomorrow morning. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEyePress Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 7th December 2021 Members of the public battle the wind and rain in Belfast City Centre as Storm Barra hits Northern Ireland. A yellow weather warning has been put in place until tomorrow morning. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye
Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 7th December 2021 Members of the public battle the wind and rain in Belfast City Centre as Storm Barra hits Northern Ireland. A yellow weather warning has been put in place until tomorrow morning. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

“Engineers from NIE Networks have been responding throughout the day to assess the extent of the damage in each area affected and carry out repairs to restore power to those customers without supply,” a spokesperson said.

“The NIE Networks Incident Management Centre at Craigavon was open since early morning, as have our local incident centres which are in locations across Northern Ireland and used by our teams to co-ordinate our localised response.

“The electricity network has performed well today despite the severe weather brought by Storm Barra.

“Extra staff were brought in to help with our response to Storm Barra and our teams are working hard to repair any damage to the network as safely and quickly as possible.”

Related topics:EngineersProvinceNorthern IrelandMet Office