More than 350,000 homes in the Republic of Ireland and the British provinces of Northern Ireland and Scotland were still without power last night, the various electricity operators reported, three days after the passage of the unprecedentedly strong storm ""Eoin", reported Agence France-Presse, quoted by BTA.
The storm, which the British Meteorological Service described on Saturday as "probably the strongest to hit Britain", claimed the lives of two people. Yesterday, Scottish authorities announced that a 19-year-old driver died on Friday morning when a tree fell on his car. Another man died the same day in similar circumstances in Ireland.
Last night, the Irish Electricity Company estimated that around 278,000 people were still without power. The island was hit by the strongest wind gusts in its history. The company warned that 100,000 people were likely to be without power for several more days.
Social Security Minister Dara Calleri said British and French technicians were helping their Irish counterparts. He described the damage as "significant" and added that "every effort is being made" to restore power.
Over 75,000 people were still without power in Northern Ireland last night. In Scotland, around 4,700 homes were still without power. However, power has been restored to 88,000 homes.
According to the local operator, the strength of the storm, combined with the current bad weather, could delay a full return to normal.
The British and Irish meteorological services have issued new warnings for snow, ice, wind and rain due to the approach of a new storm called "Herminia".