Storm Boelo: Electricity restored to all of Northern Ireland

Electricity has been restored to all properties across Northern Ireland after Storm Boelo, Northern Ireland Electricity Networks (NIE) has said.

Shéa Clarke, who was stranded on Lusty Beg island in County Fermanagh, said that "safety comes first" and as "long as we don't run out of Guinness or chips".

At the weekend, the storm saw gusts of wind reach almost 80mph in some areas and led to flights and ferries being cancelled.

A Met Office yellow warning for strong winds, mainly along the Antrim and Down coasts, lasts from 18:00 GMT on Monday until 03:00 Tuesday.

Clarke was attending a wedding at the resort located in Lower Lough Erne.

"You could see the waves were rough and the wind was going.

"I've enjoyed myself the staff have been great and obviously it's too dangerous to cross and the boat can't cross so safety comes first," Clarke said.

"Some people have slept in cars, some people have slept on sofas there's been 8 people in one room sleeping on the floor.

"But the spirit has been good the craic is 90".

A second wind warning along the north coast of Antrim and Londonderry comes into place at 03:00 GMT on Tuesday until 21:00 GMT.

The Met Office is expecting gusts up to 50mph (80km/h) in Monday's warning zone, and up to 65mph (105km/h) on exposed coastal areas.

Gusts up to 60mph (105km/h) are again expected in Tuesday's warning, with stronger winds for more exposed coastal areas.

Olivia Millar, a cabin crew member based in London, was also a guest at the wedding and said the plan was to be in South Africa on Monday night.

"It hasn't felt like real life but everyone's been amazing and we've just made the most of it.

"We've drunk to pass the time and had a really good barbecue yesterday".

Staff at Lusty Beg Island Resort & Spa took care of guests who couldn't get off the island.

Michael Cadden, managing director at hotel, said they are "delighted at how staff and customers have dealt with this".

"The ferocity and the longevity of this storm was unlike anything we've experienced on the island before.

"This was a crisis, but we've now arranged to transport and are getting all our staff and customers safely home".

Kacper Dymarczyk, a bartender, was locked down with the guests and had to work through the storm.

"It was great craic, seeing other people drinking" he said as he laughed.

Dymarczyk added that there was "no concern" of running out of anything as they are "well stocked at all times".

Meanwhile in the Republic of Ireland, an ESB spokesperson said there are "a number of homes, farms and businesses still without electricity" on Monday morning, and that teams are working to restore the power to all properties.

About 5,000 homes, farms and businesses were still without electricity on Sunday evening in the Republic of Ireland.

Although some faults occurred overnight in Northern Ireland, and are showing on NIE's Powercheck tool , they are not believed to be storm related.

NIE said around 12,500 properties were without power at one stage after Storm Boelo.

Flights were cancelled at airports across the island of Ireland at the weekend including about 40 flights at Belfast International Airport and about 30 at Dublin Airport.

A spokesperson for Translink said that some bus services were diverted over the weekend due to fallen debris and rail restrictions were put in place in affected areas.

"Stormy conditions also increase 'leaf fall' at this time of year which can impact train services and our infrastructure crews will be deployed to clear any debris potentially blocking railway lines," they added.

On Sunday, the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) said around 470 incidents had been reported to the department, including fallen trees and flooding.

The Foyle Bridge was closed on Saturday due to high winds but reopened again on Sunday evening.

Foyle SDLP MLA Mark H Durkan said he understood the need to close the Foyle Bridge during Storm Boelo, but said its prolonged closure caused major traffic congestion throughout the city.

Speaking to BBC Radio Foyle's North West Today , Durkan said redirecting vehicles to the lower deck of the Craigavon Bridge caused a traffic build-up and showed that the city was in desperate need of a third bridge.

"The infrastructural capacity of Derry needs increased; I don't think two vehicular bridges for a city of this side and a population of this city is enough."

In the Republic of Ireland, wind and rain warnings have also been issued for most counties along the south and west coasts on Monday evening.

Much improved weather conditions are expected on Wednesday with calmer and sunnier weather in the forecast.

Majority of homes in NI have power restored after Storm Boelo

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