A man has died and hundreds of thousands of homes are without power as Storm Amy, the first named storm of the season, wreaks havoc across Ireland and Scotland. Irish police are treating the death in County Donegal as weather-related, while power outages affect approximately 184,000 properties in the Republic of Ireland and 50,000 in Northern Ireland.
An amber weather warning, indicating a danger to life, remains in place for northern Scotland until 9pm on Saturday. Winds have reached 92mph in Northern Ireland, setting a provisional October record, and are forecast to hit 100mph in exposed parts of western Scotland. The Met Office has issued warnings for heavy rain and strong winds across Britain.
Transport has been severely disrupted, with all train lines in Northern Ireland closed, ferry services cancelled between Scotland and Northern Ireland, and flights affected at Belfast airports. The Forth Road Bridge in Scotland has been closed to all vehicles. Schools in several Northern Irish counties closed early, and the Irish government issued a red wind warning for Donegal, advising residents to shelter in place.
Power companies are mobilising staff to restore supplies, with NIE Networks opening incident centres across Northern Ireland. In Scotland, Network Rail reported over 60 incidents within the first two hours of the storm, including trees falling on overhead lines. The RNLI has urged extreme caution near coasts due to the significant safety risk posed by strong gusts.
Event cancellations include the United Rugby Championship match between Edinburgh and Ulster, with Edinburgh's managing director stating the decision was not taken lightly. The storm is expected to continue causing disruption through the weekend.
