172,000 ESB AND NIE CUSTOMERS NOW WITH NO POWER NATIONWIDE THIS MORNING - STORM ALI LATEST

Up to 140,000 ESB customers and 32,000 NIE customers have lost power this morning as storm Ali continues to batter Ireland with power not expected to be restored in some areas until the afternoon or tonight in some places.

ESB has said over 140,000 customers are without power, with the areas worst affected being, Cavan, Sligo, Galway, Thurles, Castlebar, Tralee, Portlaoise, Mullingar, Dundalk.

The damage is mainly attributable to fallen trees on overhead lines as a result of the high winds.

ESB crews are en route to sites where faults have occurred but will work on repairs when it is safe to do so.

The Foyle Bridge has also been fully closed.

As the strongest winds from storm Ali push up the west and northwest coast over this morning Further outage will also be possible across the rest of Ireland this morning and over the early afternoon a number of outage could also occur in the east.

Extreme caution is advised around Atlantic coastal county’s in particular of Clare, Connacht and west / north Ulster There will be severe or possibly damaging gusts for a time in the morning especially in the west and northwest which could lead to.

11am update : ESB Networks crews are working to restore power to 140,000 impacted by Storm Ali latest info here : https://t.co/O5GIQWfY5D
Please report any damage to electricity infrastructure immediately by calling 1850 372 999 pic.twitter.com/YEECJmKSmd
— ESB Networks (@ESBNetworks) September 19, 2018

Around 32k customers are without power due to #StormAli. . The majority of faults are currently located in the #Omagh, #Dungannon and #Enniskillen areas, however, we expect winds to move north and east over the coming hours.

Around 32k customers are without power due to #StormAli. . The majority of faults are currently located in the #Omagh, #Dungannon and #Enniskillen areas, however, we expect winds to move north and east over the coming hours.
— NIE Networks (@NIElectricity) September 19, 2018

- Flying debris is likely and could lead to Injuries or danger to life.

- Probably some damage to buildings, such as tiles blown from roofs or damage through falling trees and branches breaking.

- Longer journey times and cancellations likely, as road, rail, air and ferry services may be affected.

- Power cuts may occur, with the potential to affect other services, such as mobile phone coverage.

- Some roads and bridges likely to close.

- Large waves could affect coastal roads, sea fronts and properties.