Storm Éowyn leaves power cuts and travel disruption

Nearly one million properties were left without power in the UK and Ireland and significant travel disruption continues after Storm Éowyn brought gusts of up to 114mph (183 km/h).

A man died after a tree fell on a car in Ireland, while there was widespread property damage in parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland and delays and cancellations to trains, planes, and ferries.

Network Rail Scotland logged nearly 400 damage incidents, including 120 fallen trees, and warned disruption was expected until at least midday on Saturday.

While the fiercest gusts have passed, strong winds are expected to continue, and parts of England and Wales could receive up to 80mm of rainfall over the weekend.

The dead man was on Saturday identified as Kacper Dudek, 20, who was killed when a tree fell on his car at in Co Donegal.

Yellow warnings for rain, wind, snow, and ice are in place across parts of the UK, while flood warnings and alerts are in place in southern England, north Wales, and west Scotland.

In Ireland, 625,000 homes and businesses were without power on Friday evening. While tens of thousands had been reconnected by Saturday morning, engineers said it could take a “significant number of days” for the grid to be fully repaired.

Around 138,000 people were without water, a figure Irish Water said was likely to increase because of power outages at treatment plants and pumping stations.

In Scotland, power had been restored to 134,000 properties by Saturday morning. Around 30,000 remained without supply.

In Northern Ireland, 189,000 homes and businesses remained without power on Saturday morning, although supply had been restored for 96,000 customers.

Northern Ireland Electricity said it could be up to 10 days before all were back on the grid.

The infrastructure department said there were more than incidents of 1,800 fallen trees, branches, and other debris blocking roads.

Paul Morrow, group commander at Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service, told BBC Breakfast that scenes witnessed by his crews were “something we’ve never seen before”.

He urged members of the public to remain cautious and heed weather warnings. “We’ve not moved into the recovery phase just yet,” he said.

Northern Irish Education Minister Paul Givan said 60 schools had reported “significant damage to some buildings” and some may not be open on Monday.

The storm also left 20,000 properties in north-west England without power. Reconnection efforts were under way on Saturday morning.

BBC Weather’s Helen Willetts said Storm Éowyn had by Saturday morning whisked off into the North Sea – but severe weather was still a possibility in many areas of the British Isles.

“The early hours saw wind gusts in Fair Isle, Scotland, to 80mph but the day ahead will see the winds gradually easing,” she said.

Heavy showers, snow and squally winds will move into Northern Ireland by mid-afternoon on Saturday, and then into western England and Wales later, she added.

Gales are also expected to develop around the coasts and over hills.