ESSENTIAL travel only is being advised as strong winds continue on Saturday with conditions on the roads difficult.
Last night trees were felled throughout Belfast with the Falls Road taking a particular pounding with several fallen trees and debris blocking roads.
There is disruption to public transport with bus and rail services impacted. Translink have taken steps to mitigate against the effects of Storm Darragh. Additional buses are on standby. Additional support and teams are also on standby, including chainsaw crews, to assist with any fallen debris.
One of several trees that were uprooted on the Falls Road
Flights are also disrupted. The Strangford Ferry is currently suspended until further notice.
Department for Infrastructure staff have been working through the night to respond to approximately 900 incidents which are mainly debris on the roads, fallen trees and branches and flooding.
If travel is essential you are advised to plan ahead, stay up to date with the latest weather and travel advice and take extra care if travelling. There has been widespread outage of power supplies with NIE Networks currently dealing with 48,000 customers off supply.
NIE Networks is reminding the public to stay clear of any damaged electricity equipment and report it immediately to the Customer Helpline on 03457 643 643. Members of the public should never approach a broken pole or electricity line.
