Severe weather conditions have caused road closures and public transport disruptions across Northern Ireland, as Storm Debi hits the region with high winds and heavy rain. The Met Office has lifted all amber and yellow weather warnings, which were previously in place. Warnings in the Republic of Ireland, including a rare red alert, have also ended. Around 70,000 homes and businesses in the Republic remain without power, while around 2,000 customers are affected in Northern Ireland, with most outages in Craigavon, Newry, and Downpatrick.
In Northern Ireland, up to 40mm of rainfall is expected within a six-hour period. As of 9:00 AM, Glennane in County Armagh has received the highest volume of rainfall, accumulating 22mm. According to the Met Office, properties could be under threat from flooding. A few weeks ago, counties Down, Armagh, and Antrim suffered from flooding that caused chaos in the area. The Department for Infrastructure has closed a number of roads in Ballymena due to fallen trees while reports indicate that a land slip has occurred near Glenarm, County Antrim on A2 Coast Road. Also, a section of Creggan Road in Londonderry has shut down due to flooding.
Translink alerted passengers to delays and disruptions across train and bus networks. The bus station in Lisburn is closed. The Royal Ulster Constabulary has reported flooding in several areas of the road network and shared a picture of a crash on M1 near junction 14, but thankfully, no injuries reported.
In the Republic of Ireland, the red weather alert for wind implied possible risk to life and resulted in inbound and outbound flight cancellations at Dublin Airport and speed restrictions on Irish Rail, which will result in delays across the country’s entire railroad network. The coast road between Oranmore and Galway is also closed due to the storm. T he Irish public transportation network is gradually returning to normal, with earlier cancellations causing significant disruption throughout the day
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More