Clear-up as Ophelia passes by

Clear-up as Ophelia passes by

18 October 2017

STORM Ophelia wreaked havoc across Down District on Monday with the clearing up operation still underway in some areas.

Tress brought down power cables as the district was battered by high winds during what forecasters confirmed was one of the worst storms to hit the area in more than 50 years.

Schools closed and many businesses pulled the shutters down early and sent staff home, leaving many normally bustling town centres in Downpatrick and Newcastle eerily quiet.

Trees were also blown down in a number of areas impacting on the electricity network in exposed locations, with Northern Ireland Electricity confirming yesterday morning that almost 4,000 customers were still without power in the Newcastle, Downpatrick and Ardglass areas.

NIE engineers battled to restore power on Monday but high winds saw them retreat when darkness fell although staff were back out again at first light on Tuesday morning in a bid to get customers back on line.

The Strangford ferry was forced to battle ferocious weather conditions on Monday before being withdrawn from service and while thousands of people across the district heeded warnings to stay indoors, there were a few exceptions.

A kayaker took to the sea in Newcastle as the coastline was battered by ferocious gales with winds of up to 80mph reported, while a number of other people made their way to parts of the local coastline to capture the fierce storm, despite the Met Office issuing an amber warning and advising people to stay safe.

Maghera man, Darren McKevitt, just missed a tree which came down at the Ballyloughlin Road on Monday afternoon. He was driving along the road at 3.40pm on an errand and when he returned along the same route minutes later the tree was down, explaining this “gave him a bit of a fright.”

The ferocity of the gale force winds also resulted in a number of boats at local harbours breaking their moorings with one vessel blown on to rocks at Whiterock near Killinchy.

Power lines and telephone cables, television aerials and satellite dishes were also damaged during the storm which caused widespread damage. The Old Belfast Road and Strangford Roads in Downpatrick were closed due to falling trees and debris.

The huge tree at the Strangford Road brought down a power cable servicing nearby homes which were left in darkness on Monday night, with many homes also unable to use their central heating systems.

Transport NI staff were deployed to remove a number of fallen trees including one at the Dromore Road in Ballynahinch, with trees reported down in a number of other locations including the Comber, Ringdufferin, Crossgar, Ballywillan and Sunday Wells roads outside Killyleagh.

A tree was also blown down at the Killough Road in Downpatrick while a number of trees were felled by the powerful winds at the National Trust’s Castleward estate on the shores of Strangford Lough. 

Trees battered by high winds in Castlewellan town centre were also damaged while a number were felled by gale force winds at the Tobar Mhuire monastery in Crossgar. Other fallen trees blocked the Burrenbridge and Ballyward roads outside Castlewellan and the Corrigs Road in Newcastle.

Gale force winds also blew down trees at the Carnacaville and Bryansford roads outside Newcastle, while a number of homes at the Castlewellan Road in the town were left without power  for several hours on Monday before supply was restored around 10pm.

Newry, Mourne and Down Council vice-chairman, Willie Clarke, has paid tribute to staff who battled gale force conditions on Monday to keep roads open and restore power to homes where possible.

“While many people retreated to the safety of their homes during the storm, Transport NI and NIE staff were working in what can only be described as atrocious and very dangerous weather conditions and they deserve our praise,” he said.

“Rivers Agency staff were also on patrol in the Newcastle area with sand bags, but thankfully these were not required during what was a ferocious storm which left a number of homes without power. NIE engineers are doing all they can to restore power and I would appeal to people to remain patient given the workload they face.”

The council vice-chairman said he hopes power will be restored to all homes shortly and admitted while things could have been a lot worse, Ophelia did leave her mark on the district.

Councillor Clarke added: “We are fortunate to have staff from a number of statutory agencies who go out in all weathers to work on our behalf and we owe them a huge debt of gratitude. As the intensity of the storm gathered pace on Monday, these people were out removing fallen trees and working to restore electricity supplies to help keep us safe.”