Storm Amy horror as man in 40s killed in 'weather-related incident'

A man has died as Storm Amy sweeps across the UK and Ireland.

The man, understood to be in his 40s, died in the weather-related incident in Letterkenny, Co Donegal, Gardai said. Emergency services raced to the scene at about 4:15pm.

The man's body was removed to the morgue at Letterkenny University Hospital, with a post mortem examination set to be carried out in due course. Gardai are carrying out enquiries and the results of the post mortem will determine next steps. A file will be prepared for the coroner.

Storm Amy has unleashed strong winds and rain across the British Isles since it barrelled toward the UK and Ireland today. Around 50,000 properties are without power in Northern Ireland due to the storm.

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NIE Networks said there had been a "significant level of damage to the electricity networks" in the region. Alex Houston, NIE Networks operations manager, said: "Our incident management centre in Craigavon has been opened as have our local incident centres across Northern Ireland with staff across the company being escalated to assist with the response effort.

"We have mobilised additional call agents to deal with any queries customers may have regarding the repair process in their area."

South of the border, approximately 184,000 homes, farms and businesses across the Republic of Ireland were left without power at 5:15pm during the storm.

The ESB said affected properties were predominantly in counties Galway, Mayo, Sligo, Roscommon, Leitrim, Cavan and Donegal. It also warned that further “power outages can be expected”.

A spokesman said: “Crews will continue the restoration work for as long as possible this evening, but it is likely that the majority of customers will not have their power restored tonight due to the hazardous weather conditions and accessibility challenges.”

The UK Met Office said wind speeds could reach up to 80mph (130kph) along the most exposed coastal areas of the island, with fallen trees and power outages among the potential impacts.

In Northern Ireland, a yellow wind warning was put in place for the entire region between 2pm on Friday and midnight on Saturday.

A yellow rain warning is in place for the region until midday on Saturday, with the Met Office warning the flooding of homes and businesses is possible.

An additional amber wind warning was put in place for Antrim, Fermanagh, Tyrone and Londonderry between 3pm and 8pm on Friday, and the Education Authority said a decision to shut schools from noon had been taken in the interest of the safety of children, young people and staff.

The Met Office said Storm Amy is likely to bring a period of damaging south to south-westerly winds during the late afternoon and evening on Friday, with gusts of 60-70mph (97-113kph) inland and up to 80mph along some more exposed coasts.

It said power outages could affect other services such as mobile phone coverage.