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28/01/2002
Severe gales leave thousands without electricity
Torrents of rain and gale force winds have battered Northern Ireland’s shores over the past 48-hours leaving a trail of destruction in their wake.
Gales force winds of up to 60mph causing major damage to the electricity network throughout the province, left around 7,500 customers without electricity on Monday afternoon. However, by late afternoon, this number had fallen to 3,000.
Areas hit hardest, according to NIE are Ballymena, Cullybackey, Warringstown, Tullygoonigan, Dungannon and Downpatrick.
The MET office said power cables were down, vehicles were overturned and minor roads were closed due to fallen trees. The Foyle Bridge has been closed and ferry companies - Stena and HSS – had to cancel services.
In response the weather crisis NIE said hundreds of extra engineers, call handlers and administrative staff had been deployed to deal with problems across the province.
The situation has been exacerbated with around 650 customers in the Maydown area of Derry cut off due to a underground cable fault.
Robin Greer, Northern Ireland Electricity’s Communications Manager said: “We are already in position to get customers back on supply as quickly as humanly consistent with safety, and to keep customers regularly updated and informed.
“We have invested heavily in our service this year and our systems have been thoroughly tested, but we have to recognise the reality that Northern Ireland has a widely dispersed population and therefore the sort of rural network that is vulnerable to severe conditions be it snow, ice, lightening or high winds.”
While weather conditions were expected to worsen on Monday January 28 with gusts up to 80 miles per hour, winds were expected to ease later on Monday night.
However, the UK MET office in Bracknell, 40 miles from London, was unable to give accurate predictions on Monday as technicians were trying to repair damage caused to their network by the severe winds. (AMcE)
Gales force winds of up to 60mph causing major damage to the electricity network throughout the province, left around 7,500 customers without electricity on Monday afternoon. However, by late afternoon, this number had fallen to 3,000.
Areas hit hardest, according to NIE are Ballymena, Cullybackey, Warringstown, Tullygoonigan, Dungannon and Downpatrick.
The MET office said power cables were down, vehicles were overturned and minor roads were closed due to fallen trees. The Foyle Bridge has been closed and ferry companies - Stena and HSS – had to cancel services.
In response the weather crisis NIE said hundreds of extra engineers, call handlers and administrative staff had been deployed to deal with problems across the province.
The situation has been exacerbated with around 650 customers in the Maydown area of Derry cut off due to a underground cable fault.
Robin Greer, Northern Ireland Electricity’s Communications Manager said: “We are already in position to get customers back on supply as quickly as humanly consistent with safety, and to keep customers regularly updated and informed.
“We have invested heavily in our service this year and our systems have been thoroughly tested, but we have to recognise the reality that Northern Ireland has a widely dispersed population and therefore the sort of rural network that is vulnerable to severe conditions be it snow, ice, lightening or high winds.”
While weather conditions were expected to worsen on Monday January 28 with gusts up to 80 miles per hour, winds were expected to ease later on Monday night.
However, the UK MET office in Bracknell, 40 miles from London, was unable to give accurate predictions on Monday as technicians were trying to repair damage caused to their network by the severe winds. (AMcE)
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Northern Ireland WeatherThis Evening and Tonight:Rain clearing away east by early evening with some clear spells but a few showers likely to affect the North coast and other areas towards dawn, remaining breezy and mild overnight. Minimum temperature 9 °C.
