By Rebecca Black, PA
Some 55,000 homes, farms and businesses remained without power in Ireland on Sunday evening following Storm Darragh.
High winds with gusts of up to 141km/h (88mph) recorded by Met Éireann caused widespread and extensive damage to electricity infrastructure across the country.
The worst-impacted areas included the North West, Midlands and South East.
Almost 400,000 customers were without electricity at the peak of the storm.
ESB Networks said at 5pm on Sunday that approximately 55,000 properties remained without power.
They described the impact of the storm as similar to that of Storm Ophelia in 2017, which left 385,000 customers without power at the peak but with more widespread impact across the country.
They said all ESB Networks crews and partner contractors would continue working into Sunday night to safely restore power to as many customers as possible in challenging conditions, adding that crews from French counterparts, Enedis, would arrive on Monday to assist with power restoration in the worst-impacted areas.
But they warned that significant numbers would be without supply for a number of days, and some for around a week.
They urged the public to stay safe, and to stay clear of fallen electricity wires, and report any damage to the network by calling 1800 372 999.
Meanwhile, An Post made deliveries in many parts of the country on Sunday following disruption to postal services on Saturday.
“In badly impacted areas, local staff will deliver as soon as it’s safe to do so,” they said.
“Following the tireless work of the ESB restoring power in affected areas, we expect all post offices to be open for business tomorrow (Monday).”
