Two people have died and several others have required hospital treatment as Storm Ali swept across the north of Ireland, central Scotland and northern England with winds of up to 90 miles per hour.
A man died after he was hit by a tree as he worked in a country park in Northern Ireland and a woman was killed when a caravan was blown off a cliff in the west of Ireland. In the Northern Irish incident yesterday afternoon, another man was injured when he was also hit by the tree. The pair were doing contract work for Northern Ireland Water in Slieve Gullion Forest Park, near Newry, County Down. The man who died was in his 20s. The injured man, who is in his 40s, was taken to hospital. Police said there were no suspicious circumstances and the incident was being investigated by the region’s Health and Safety Executive.
Earlier, as the first named storm of the season struck during the morning rush-hour, Irish police confirmed the woman’s death. Irish police said: “Gardai at Clifden, County Galway, are investigating an incident which occurred at Claddaghduff, County Galway, yesterday morning.
“At approximately 7.45am, a report was received that a caravan had blown off the cliff at the above location. A search was carried out at the scene on the beach and after a short time the body of a female in her 50s was recovered.” The Met Office issued amber “be prepared” weather alerts along the path of the storm, which remained in place until 6pm. It said gusts of 91mph had been recorded in Killowen, County Down, yesterday morning but the strongest winds were felt in central and southern Scotland and north-east England later.
About 55,000 homes and businesses, mainly in the south-west of Ireland, were left without power, while 16,000 in the south-west of Scotland were similarly affected.
A major incident involving “serious risk to life” was declared in Dumfries and Galloway, south-west Scotland, by the police and local council. Schoolchildren were not allowed to walk home because of flying debris.
The council’s virtual operations support team earlier warned: “In order to keep pupils safe, we will not be allowing children to walk home from school at the end of the school day. Staff will remain in school to supervise pupils at the end of the school day until they can be collected. We are asking parents to collect their children in vehicles where possible or wait until the wind calms down.”
The storm caused widespread travel disruption across Scotland’s central belt, with all train services out of Edinburgh Waverley, Glasgow Queen Street and Glasgow Central’s high level suspended by early afternoon after damage to overhead power cables. Flights from Glasgow and Edinburgh airports were also delayed.
Vehicles and pedestrians were stopped from using the Forth Road Bridge, while the Queensferry Crossing was shut to high-sided vehicles and double-decker buses. Restrictions were also put in place on Skye Bridge, while a 91.7 miles per hour gust was recorded on the Tay Road Bridge, which has also been closed to traffic.
A ship became detached from its moorings in strong winds at the port of Greenock, Inverclyde. Oceania Cruises said: “Yesterday afternoon, the … Nautica encountered extremely strong winds, which resulted in the parting of mooring lines and the vessel being detached from the dock. All guests and crew onboard are safe and there were no injuries.”


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