Anglesey county council, in north Wales, has instructed all schools to close after lunch because of the threat posed by Ophelia.
Storm Ophelia: second person killed in Ireland, police confirm - as it happened
Follow latest updates as Tropical Storm Ophelia batters Ireland, with homes and businesses without power and schools closed
Mon 16 Oct 2017 18.36 EDT
First published on Mon 16 Oct 2017 03.22 EDT- Evening summary
- Two of the victims named
- Summary
- Third person reported dead
- 360,000 homes without power
- Reports of a second death
- All trains cancelled in Ireland
- Schools in Pembrokeshire close
- What we know so far
- Woman reported killed in Waterford
- Up to 100,000 homes and businesses without power
- Reports of Ophelia making landfall
- Ophelia forces Bill Clinton to postpone Stormont intervention
- 22,000 homes in Ireland without power
- Amber weather warning extended
Live feed
- Evening summary
- Two of the victims named
- Summary
- Third person reported dead
- 360,000 homes without power
- Reports of a second death
- All trains cancelled in Ireland
- Schools in Pembrokeshire close
- What we know so far
- Woman reported killed in Waterford
- Up to 100,000 homes and businesses without power
- Reports of Ophelia making landfall
- Ophelia forces Bill Clinton to postpone Stormont intervention
- 22,000 homes in Ireland without power
- Amber weather warning extended
This video, from Sky News’s Dublin correspondent, vividly illustrates the storm’s force:
A series of flood alerts and flood watches are in force for south-west and north-west England.
Red sky in the morning, shepherds warning…
A red sun being seen in parts of the UK has been caused by particulates thrown up by Ophelia, according experts.
Belfast international airport has confirmed that it has cancelled 24 flights, most of them to or from the UK.
A spokesman said the airport is on standby to take diverted flights destined for Dublin including a number of transatlantic flights.
Up to 100,000 homes and businesses without power
Up to 100,000 homes and businesses in Ireland are now without power, according to Derek Hynes, operations manager of the electricity supplier ESB. He warned a news briefing that more homes will be without power by the end of the day.
He said:
We have, and we will have had, trees falling on our network over the course of this morning. We do have, and we have more, live electrical wires on the ground. Please stay safe by staying clear of all fallen electricity wires. We are approaching 100,000 homes and businesses without electricity. They are predominantly in an area from Cork city west and north up as far as Tralee.
That currently comprises a total of about 400 individual outages. Each one of these individual outages is a potential threat to members of the public in terms of fallen wires on the ground.
Reports of Ophelia making landfall
Storm watchers reckon Ophelia is making landfall in County Kerry.
Broadcaster RTE also reports the storm making landfall
Met Éireann has issued a new warning for “violent and destructive gusts” of up 93mph (150 kmph) across Ireland and even strong gusts in coastal and hilly areas.
It repeated a warning to life and property, with the strongest winds in the provinces of Munster and south Leinster.
Ophelia forces Bill Clinton to postpone Stormont intervention
Ireland’s prime minister, Leo Varadkar, has appealed to the Irish public to stay indoors as Storm Ophelia batters Ireland.
Referring to the biggest storm recorded in Irish history, Debbie in the 1960s, he said: “The last time we had a storm this severe 11 lives were lost so safety is our number one priority.”
Speaking in Dublin before a cabinet meeting to co-ordinate Ireland’s response to the storm, Varadkar reminded the public that the red weather warning applied to all cities and all counties across Ireland.
And he warned that the danger to public safety was not over even after the storm had passed the island as there would be fallen trees and felled power lines, many of which could still be live, all across the country in the aftermath of Ophelia.
A media briefing by the Northern Ireland Office at Stormont today has been cancelled.
Former US president Bill Clinton was scheduled to speak in the city today and deliver an address urging Northern Ireland’s political parties to find a solution that would restore devolved government in the region.
During his trip Clinton was to hold talks with the parties represented at the Stormont assembly. Clinton was due to be in Ireland to receive an award from Dublin City University later on Monday evening.
Kevin Moran, minister for flood relief, warned that the storm will bring flooding and widespread structural damage.
Speaking at that press conference in Dublin he said: “This storm is over 120km in width so it is going to do an awful lot of structural damage to the whole country. There is going to be flooding in some parts of the country, but we don’t know the level. This is unprecedented.
“What we are seeing happening in Cork at the present time and the amount of electricity that’s out, if that is to ripple right through then we’re faced with an awful problem tomorrow and right into the weekend.”
Asked whether the Irish government had done enough to prepare the country, Moran said: “That’s an unfair question. We have spoken to every local authority in the country.”
Varadkar said homeless people will be allowed to stay in hostels throughout the day to protect them from the storm.