A status red weather warning for Donegal has expired.
The alert was in place from 7am this morning as strong winds battered the county.
An orange wind warning is now in place for Donegal until 4pm this afternoon. Strong winds are to persist over the coming hours.
ESB networks say the extreme and destructive winds associated with Storm Éowyn have continued to cause widespread and extensive damage to the electricity network across all parts Donegal.
As at 2.30pm today, approx. 87,000 customers are without power and the damage is countywide. For a time this afternoon, approx. 90% of all customers across Co Donegal were without supply.
With the Met Éireann Status Red warning ending at 2pm, all available resources including crews and partner contractors are now mobilising where safe to do so, to assess the network and work to safely restore power as quickly as possible. They face challenging conditions with Met Éireann wind warnings in place until this evening.
However, Siobhán Wynne, ESB Networks Regional Manager says it will be a number of days before power is restored to all areas………….
Meanwhile, Uisce Éireann says it’s working to restore water to customers supplied by the Lough Mourne Public Water Supply Scheme.
They say the storm has affected operations at the water treatment plant, and customers are expected to experience a loss in pressure or outages to their supply in elevated areas of the Finn Valley, and the twin towns of Ballybofey and Stranorlar.
The affected areas include Meenglass, Goland, Carrickmagrath, Knock, Glencovitt, Sessiaghoneill, Cavan Upper, Cooladawson, Dunwiley, Blacklees, Lettermakenny, Creggan, Glenfin, Largnalore, Commeen, Reelin, Cloghroe, Lettermore, Kilross, Broadpath, and Meenavoy.
Repair crews are commencing restoration works as the wind eases, and customers are urged to conserve water where possible in order to protect supply while the outages are resolved.
