Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Storm Eowyn batters Ireland and UK, causing power cuts, travel chaos

The storm, which recorded Ireland's strongest-ever wind gusts, also led to travel cancellations, school closures, and extensive damage to infrastructure.

Storm-Eowyn-Getty

Workers clear fallen trees blocking the M2 motorway to Belfast during Storm Eowyn on January 24, 2025 near Antrim, Northern Ireland. (Photo: Getty Images)

STORM Eowyn caused widespread disruption on Friday as it swept through Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Scotland, killing one person and leaving hundreds of thousands without power.

The storm, which recorded Ireland's strongest-ever wind gusts, also led to travel cancellations, school closures, and extensive damage to infrastructure.


A man died in Ireland when a tree fell on his car, according to police. Gusts reached 183 kilometres per hour, breaking an 80-year-old record.

These winds brought down power lines, uprooted trees, blocked roads, and destroyed sports facilities, including an ice-skating rink near Dublin and a multi-million-pound indoor games centre in County Mayo.

By evening, the highest red weather warnings had been lifted in Ireland and Scotland, but officials urged caution.

Scotland’s deputy first minister Kate Forbes told BBC radio, "It is so important that people follow advice not to travel because if people stay at home, they don’t invite that risk to themselves."

Airports, including Dublin, Belfast, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, and Glasgow, cancelled numerous flights. Dublin Airport, which had over 230 flight cancellations, resumed operations with the first departure around 0930 GMT. Schools across the affected regions were closed, and ferry services and train operations, including ScotRail, were suspended.

Cathriona Heffernan, a resident of Galway in Ireland, described the winds as "crazy" during the storm’s early stages. She noted that five large trees had been uprooted, with one split in half, highlighting the storm’s strength.

The UK’s Met Office said satellite imagery showed a rare weather phenomenon, a sting jet, had formed over Ireland. A sting jet is a small area of highly intense winds that can reach over 160 kilometres per hour, similar to the 1987 "Great Storm" in England, which caused 18 deaths.

In Ireland, 715,000 homes and businesses lost power, while Northern Ireland had over 93,000 outages, according to electricity suppliers. In Scotland, 22,000 homes were left without electricity as fallen trees and debris damaged power lines.

The Met Eireann weather service confirmed that Ireland’s previous wind speed record of 182 kilometres per hour, set in 1945, had been broken. Meanwhile, Britain recorded its highest gust of the day at 149 kilometres per hour in Northumberland, though the UK’s record remains 228 kilometres per hour, set in 1989 in Scotland.

Emergency alerts were sent to around 4.5 million people in the UK ahead of the storm, marking the largest use of the alert system to date. The Environment Agency has also warned of possible flooding in southern and central England in the coming days.

Scientists have linked stronger storms to human-driven climate change, although no specific connection has been attributed to Storm Eowyn.

(With inputs from AFP)

More For You

Champions Trophy

The tournament, considered the second most significant in one-day cricket after the World Cup, will run until 9 March. (Photo: Getty Images)

Champions Trophy to begin after India-Pakistan standoff

THE CHAMPIONS TROPHY starts on Wednesday, following a build-up marked by a venue split between Pakistan and the UAE and calls for England to boycott their match against Afghanistan.

The tournament, considered the second most significant in one-day cricket after the World Cup, will run until 9 March.

Keep ReadingShow less
international-students-uk-iStock

It found that 59 per cent of respondents believe universities would have less funding without higher fees from international students. (Representational image: iStock)

Majority in UK back international student migration, study finds

A NEW study by British Future has found that 61 per cent of Britons support maintaining or increasing current levels of international student migration.

The research, published on Sunday, shows that only 27 per cent want a reduction, despite international students making up around 40 per cent of total UK immigration.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK-wage-growth

Commuters cross London Bridge on October 15, 2024. (Photo: Getty Images)

Wage growth accelerates in last quarter of 2024

WAGE growth in the UK picked up in the final three months of 2024, according to official data released on Tuesday.

The increase highlights why the Bank of England (BoE) remains cautious about cutting interest rates despite broader economic weakness.

Keep ReadingShow less
Indian court sentences man to life for rape, murder of Irish woman
McLaughlin, 28, from County Donegal, was found dead in a field in Goa in March 2017. (Photo credit: Twitter)

Indian court sentences man to life for rape, murder of Irish woman

A COURT in India’s Goa state has sentenced a 31-year-old man to life in prison for the rape and murder of an Irish woman in 2017. The verdict was delivered on Monday, nearly eight years after the crime.

The body of 28-year-old Danielle McLaughlin was found in March 2017 on a beach popular with tourists. An autopsy confirmed that cerebral damage and constriction of the neck caused her death.

Keep ReadingShow less
new-delhi-railway-station-reuters

People, including pilgrims on their way to attend the Maha Kumbh Mela, gather at the New Delhi Railway Station to board a train on February 15. (Photo: Reuters)

18 killed in stampede at railway station in Delhi

AT LEAST 18 people died in a stampede at a railway station in Delhi late on Saturday as large crowds rushed to board trains heading to the Maha Kumbh Mela, officials and reports said.

The Kumbh Mela, held every 12 years in Prayagraj, attracts tens of millions of Hindu devotees and has seen several crowd-related incidents. Last month, at least 30 people died in a stampede at the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati rivers.

Keep ReadingShow less