Flooding could follow storms

As the gales and storms which caused havoc across Ireland subside, heavy rain, which will reach all areas today, could cause …

As the gales and storms which caused havoc across Ireland subside, heavy rain, which will reach all areas today, could cause flooding in some areas.

A spokesman for Met Eireann said that although winds would die down, the main feature of today's weather would be the heavy rain moving slowly northwards. An inch or more could fall in some places, particularly in the south, which could lead to more flooding.

Earlier in the day, there could be a chance of sleeting rain and it would be quite cold in northern areas. It would get milder during the day and reach double figures in some places.

After the gales and a lightning strike on Sunday night, up to 15,000 homes along the western seaboard were without electricity.

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At least 7,000 homes in Galway city, and thousands more in Connemara, were left in darkness on Sunday night after a combination of storm-force winds and lightning caused damage to power lines.

Areas of Connemara, which had been hit by storm-force winds on St Stephen's night, were still without power last night. The storm knocked out the main ESB stations at Ballybane and Rahoon in Galway city at around 11.25 p.m. on Sunday, plunging most of the city into darkness.

An ESB operations manager, Mr Pat Boyce, described the damage as the worst he had seen.

About 4,000 homes in the North were left without electricity after more stormy weather yesterday, Suzanne Breen writes. The worst affected areas were Magherafelt, Co Derry; Armagh; Ballymoney, Co Antrim, and parts of Tyrone and Fermanagh.

Temporary cables installed after the St Stephen's Day storm were brought down by the new gales.

Last night, power had been restored to many houses, although 1,700 were still without electricity.

Finaghy Primary School in south Belfast remained closed because of fears that the wind would bring down temporary repairs to the roof.

The Meteorological Office at Aldergrove warned there could be more damage to property. The RUC and motoring organisations warned drivers to slow down while travelling on motorways.