Latest news with #StormÉowyn.The
BBC News
05-02-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Dáil returns to business after speaking rights ruling
Business has resumed in the Dáil, the Republic of Ireland's Parliament. Housing policy and Occupied Territories Bill are being raised as the parliament resumed on Wednesday is also due to here on the Government's response to Storm É Dáil had not sat for two weeks following a dispute over speaking rights for a group of Independent TDs (members of parliament). On Tuesday, Ceann Comhairle (Speaker) Verona Murphy ruled that the bloc of independent politicians cannot form a technical group for the purposes of speaking row resulted in chaotic scenes in the Dáil (Irish Parliament) before a new government was elected last TDs (MPs) had disrupted the nomination of Michaeál Martin as taoiseach (Irish prime minister).The new government is led by Fianna Fáil, and Fine Gael and these two major support of the independent TDs could be critical to the survival of the government during its term of office and the two main government parties had sided with the independent TDs in the speaking rights row. 'Pure fiction' On Wednesday, the opposition leader, Sinn Féin's Mary Lou McDonald, accused Martin and tánaiste (Irish deputy prime minister) Simon Harris of repeating "pure fiction" during the General Election campaign that 40,000 new homes would be delivered in reply, the taoiseach said that the government was "extremely disappointed" that the actual number homes delivered in 2024 was lower than the official target of 33, he rejected the accusation that talking about 40,000 house completions during the election campaign was a "ploy" aimed at convincing voters that the country had "turned the corner on housing".Labour Leader Ivana Bacik said people have been forced to wake dead relatives by candle light due to the ongoing fallout from Storm Éowyn."It is unacceptable that 18,000 homes, farms and businesses are still without power and some won't have their electricity restored until the weekend," she Social Democrats said it was "completely unacceptable" that the government was "missing in action" following the destruction of Storm Éowyn last month.
BBC News
05-02-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
Road closed in south of the island for tree felling
A section of a road in the south of the island is being closed for tree felling on Wednesday, following damage left by Storm É emergency closure will be in place from 09:30 to 14:00 GMT on Braaid Road in Santon, from St Marks Village to the junction with Clanna closure will allow the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture (Defa) to fell several roadside trees which are considered at risk of falling onto the carriageway after Storm É road will reopen once the work is complete.
BBC News
28-01-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
Kershopefoot residents feel 'forgotten' after Storm Éowyn
People living on the border between Cumbria and Scotland say they feel "cut off and forgotten" following Storm É tiny hamlet of Kershopefoot is preparing for its sixth day without power after high winds caused trees on the edge of the village to cut power lines on whose electricity is supplied by Scottish Power say the most optimistic deadline to be reconnected was Energy Networks said engineers were working to repair the damage and that a food van had been deployed to the 29-property hamlet. Resident Roland Underdown said he had expected an "emergency plan" to deal with the fallout of the storm."We've had no-one here at all," he said."We just feel cut off and forgotten from the rest of the country."A statement from the energy firm added: "Engineers are there right now working to repair extensive damage to the lines around Kershopefoot and are working tirelessly to restore power as quickly as they can."Mr Underdown said there were people with serious illnesses in the village and that only a few residents had log burners to heat their said: "We've been without power since 11:00 GMT on Friday and there's a lot of people solely reliant on electricity for their heating and cooking."It's a tight knit village and people have been helping each other out where they can."
BBC News
28-01-2025
- General
- BBC News
Historians "optimistic" that Darnley Sycamore will survive
Glasgow historians say they are "optimistic" an ancient sycamore with links to Mary, Queen of Scots can be saved after it was badly damaged in Storm É Darnley Sycamore in the south of Glasgow is estimated to be more than 400 years old and and has been described as "one of Scotland's most important heritage trees". Large chunks of the sycamore were ripped off when winds reaching 97mph swept through the city on McDonald, chair of Friends of Crookston Castle, told the BBC: "The tree looks really bad with so many of its limbs having been torn off, but the trunk and the roots look in tact and still look strong." He said: "We have hope that the tree can be rescued if it gets the right care and attention." The Darnley sycamore lies a few miles from Crookston Castle, which was once the family seat of Henry Stuart, the cousin and second husband to Mary, Queen of Scots. According to legend, in 1565, Mary nursed Lord Darnley back to health beneath the sycamore, when he was suffering from an illness. In June 1566, Mary and Darnley had their first and only son, James VI of Scotland, who later became James I of England, uniting the thrones of England and Scotland for the first was murdered in mysterious circumstances the following year, with suspicion falling on the Earl of Bothwell, whom Mary went on to marry three months later. The tree has became an iconic symbol for the Darnley area and is used as the emblem for the local primary school. William Graham, the SNP councillor for Greater Pollok, described the damaged tree as a "sad loss" for local residents. He said: "To pardon the pun, the tree is well rooted in the community"It's a living link to Mary, Queen of Scots and to think that it could possibly vanish - it's unthinkable." Saqib Ahmed, the Greater Pollok councillor for Scottish Labour, said that Glasgow City Council will do "everything possible" to "save and preserve" the council officers will perform an inspection later in the week. The Woodland Trust, who have seen images of the damage, said that they "believe the tree could live on", although it may not look as impressive as it did community will also hold talks about what will happen to the fallen bits of suggestions include the branches being turned into benches for local parks or donated for use in community projects. There are also plans for cuttings to be taken from the tree, which can be replanted McDonald said that, regardless of the result of the inspection, "there is a plan in place to ensure that the tree will live on in a different form".
BBC News
27-01-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
People turn to community support as thousands still without power
There are still about 74,000 properties without power following the devastation caused to the electricity network by Storm É Northern Ireland Secretary said specialist engineers have arrived from England to help with efforts to restore power, but Northern Ireland Electricity has warned it could be 3 February before all properties are Watson's 6-year-old son has cystic fibrosis; their Limavady home is among the properties to lose power on Friday morning during Storm É Watson said the power outage was a "novelty" at the beginning, but that she is concerned the cold temperature will negatively impact her son's health. 'Worst-case scenario' "The coldness can be really detrimental to his health," she said. "A cold could sit on his chest and give him a chest infection."The family spent Friday night in their own home, using blankets to stay warm, but have since moved out to stay with family members."We're just so lucky that we have got family up here, because there are so many people who will be stuck at home and have to just make do with what they have," she said."He's got a nebuliser to do every day. If he didn't do that, it could affect his health; he could get mucus build-up in his chest."It wouldn't just be a cold to him. It could be a nasty chest infection that could land him in the hospital."The one or two days that he has missed his nebuliser hopefully won't have an effect on his health, but if it were to go on for the full week, it definitely would, and we can't take that chance."Ms Watson said she's had to do additional physiotherapy on her son to counteract the told BBC News NI that she hopes NIE's estimate of ten days to restore service is the "worst-case scenario"."I'm hoping that there's a good chance that it comes on any day really, or any hour possible," she said. Ten schools in Northern Ireland will be closed on Monday due to structural damage caused by Storm Éowyn, the education minister has Givan met with the Education Authority (EA) on Saturday and announced that some schools may need to move to remote EA maintenance helpline has been operational throughout the weekend and received 154 reports of damage to school ranged in severity from missing roof tiles, fallen trees and serious structural managing director of NIE Networks said power has now been restored to 211,000 Hynes said: "We believe that it will be around 10 days by the time we complete the repairs needed to get power back to everyone."The Northern Ireland Secretary, Hilary Benn, said the UK government will offer "every possible support" to the effort to repair damage."The scale of the damage brought by this storm is deeply concerning, and I want to express my sincere gratitude to all those working hard to restore electricity, clear fallen trees and debris, and keep people safe," he said. In the Republic of Ireland, there are over 200,000 customers still without power, down from a peak of 768,000, as a result of Storm É man, Kacper Dudek, 20, died after a tree fell on his car in Raphoe, County Donegal, during the of customers in Scotland are also still without power. Emergency contacts To report faults or emergencies you should contact:Northern Ireland Housing Executive: 03448 920 901Openreach: 08000 23 20 23Gas networks: 0800 002001NI Water: 03457 44 00 88 or visit externalFlooding Incident Line: 0300 2000 100NIE Networks: 03457 643 643 or visit
