More than 170,000 homes in England, Scotland and Wales without power The Energy Networks Association said 177,000 homes in England, Scotland and Wales are without power. A spokesperson said about 768,000 customers have been reconnected on Saturday, with more than 1,000 engineers ready to be deployed. A summary of today’s developments A man in his 40s has died during Storm Darragh on Saturday after a tree fell on to his van while he was driving on a dual carriageway, Lancashire police said. Police said emergency services were called at around 9am on Saturday after the incident on the A59 at Longton near to the Lancashire police’s headquarters. The Energy Networks Association said 177,000 homes in England, Scotland and Wales are without power. A spokesperson said about 768,000 customers have been reconnected on Saturday, with more than 1,000 engineers ready to be deployed. The strongest gust thus far has been 96mph recorded at Berry Head in Devon, according to the Met Office. As of 11.30am on Saturday, 325,000 homes, farms and businesses across Ireland were without power as a result of the storm, said ESB Networks. At 7am, the number stood at approximately 395,000 customers. ESB Networks have said full restoration is expected to take several days. Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) said about 46,000 customers were without power on Saturday morning after a night of high winds. NIE Networks added this number could continue to rise. It said damage including broken overhead power lines, fallen trees across lines and broken poles will require repair work expected to continue into Sunday. Wind gusts reached 93mph, the Met Office said on Saturday, with the strongest being recorded in Capel Curig in north Wales. A major incident has been declared in parts of Wales because of disruption from Storm Darragh. Dyfed-Powys police said it was continuing to experience high volumes of calls about fallen trees and poor driving conditions. A number of rail services and flights were disrupted by Storm Darragh and some roads were closed due to fallen trees on Saturday. Air traffic control provider Nats said on Saturday morning that temporary air traffic restrictions were in place at Heathrow and Gatwick airports. Trains and some bus services in Northern Ireland were suspended on Saturday until further notice. The Premier League match between Everton and Liverpool was postponed on Saturday due to adverse weather conditions. The Merseyside derby between Everton and Liverpool at Goodison Park was due to kick off at 12.30pm. A number of other football fixtures were postponed too, while Saturday afternoon’s race meetings at both Aintree and Chepstow was called off due to the strong winds. Storm Darragh has had “very significant effects in many parts of Wales, including on transport, energy infrastructure and property”, the Welsh first minister and her deputy have said. In a joint statement from Eluned Morgan and Huw Irranca-Davies on Saturday, they said “people should be vigilant as the effects of Storm Darragh may be felt for some days yet”. Storm Darragh has also brought travel disruption to Scotland, with wind and rain battering much of the country. The train line between Ayr and Girvan was shut after a large tree fell on to the tracks, while snow gates were closed on roads in the north-east of Scotland. An amber wind warning is in place for parts of Dumfries and Galloway and South Ayrshire until 9pm on Saturday. Heavy wind and rain are also expected along the east coast of Scotland into Saturday night. Storm Darragh is also expected to bring heavy rain over the weekend, with 15 flood warnings in place in England on Saturday. The Environment Agency said river flooding is likely in parts of Hereford. An amber warning for rain is in place in Wales from 3am to 6pm on Saturday with heavy rain likely to lead to disruption to transport and infrastructure. A yellow warning for rain is in place for Northern Ireland and Wales, both of which were badly affected by flooding during Storm Bert. The Met Office said periods of heavy rain in south and mid-Wales through Saturday are likely, with totals of 80-90mm are possible by the evening, which is about half a month’s worth of rain in one day. In London, all eight of the royal parks were closed due to severe wind gusts. The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for strong winds across England and Wales on Sunday. The yellow weather warning will be in place from 6am on Sunday until 6pm. A fan of Everton football club who travelled from South Africa said his lifelong dream to watch his team play was “shattered” after the final league Merseyside derby at Goodison Park was postponed due to Storm Darragh. High winds and rain have battered the west coast and the decision to call off the lunchtime kick-off between Everton and Liverpool was made early on Saturday morning. Gareth Clark, 29, told the PA news agency he arrived in the UK from Cape Town on November 27 and has been staying in London, Liverpool and Edinburgh since then, with the Merseyside derby the highlight of his trip. “It has been my lifelong dream to come and watch Everton, and I finally saved enough money to come and watch my first derby – and, of course, the final derby at Goodison. Also my first time that I have managed to come to the UK,” he said. Clark, a teacher, said he spent a “vast amount” of money on the trip, including around £750 on flights. “More than the money, it is my lifelong dream that was shattered when I heard the news this morning,” he said. James Woodbine was woken up by Storm Darragh at 5am, roughly the time the power cut began. His 300-year-old cottage is at the top of a hill in Trofarth in north Wales where yesterday’s winds were fiercest, measured at 93mph nearby in Capel Curig. “The noise was the strangest thing,” Woodbine said. “There was a thrum coming from the ground, a rumble going through the building whenever there was a gust. I’ve never heard that before. I’ve been here for 30 years and we had Storm Doris come through in 2017, and this is far worse. I’ve never seen a storm like it.” Woodbine is one of the hundreds of thousands of people across Britain and Ireland who were affected by Storm Darragh, which was so serious that the Met Office issued a red wind warning, alerting people of the threat to life – only the 19th since 2011. One man in his 40s died after a tree fell on his van as he was driving along a dual carriageway section of the A59 in Longton, near Preston. At 3am, as winds were gathering pace, a Translink airport express bus left the road and collided with a wall near Antrim in Northern Ireland, and the driver was taken to hospital. There are currently 27 flood warnings and 142 flood alerts in the UK, according to the government. The strongest gust thus far has been 96mph recorded at Berry Head in Devon, according to the Met Office. Capel Curig in Conwy, Wales, recorded 93 mph with 92mph in Aberaeron in west Wales. A restaurant manager in Somerset said he was worried for people’s safety after Storm Darragh caused the roof of a nearby building to partly detach. Part of Knightstone Road in Weston Super Mare was closed to pedestrians and traffic after pieces of an RNLI station were left flapping around in the strong winds. Jimi, 33, who was working in the Il Michelangelo restaurant situated on the road, told the PA news agency: “If [the roof] does come off, God knows where it’s going to land. Hopefully it rips off smoothly and goes on the floor without causing any damage to anybody. We are worried for people more (than the restaurant).” A number of local businesses on the Weston Super Mare parade were closed on Saturday while others had signs in their windows stating they would open in the evening. Here is the latest from the Met Office on the ferocious winds sweeping parts of the country. The owners of Llandudno Pier in North Wales said it will cost £250,000 to repair the tourist attraction. Paul Williams, general manager of the pier, told the PA news agency: “Overnight one of the kiosks, one of the original ones, which is roughly 148 years old was ripped up. “It’s the first time in its history that it has been tipped to one side. “The ice cream stand at the end of the pier has been ripped up and it went into the sea and there are about a thousand pieces washed up on the other side of the bay. “The roof has come off the toilet and there’s real fear that we’ll potentially lose the bar and cafe down the end as well.” He added: “Repair-wise you’re looking at about £250,000, easy. “Potentially we may have to look at the pier not reopening for a considerable amount of time.” Summary of the day so far Here is a summary of the latest events related to Storm Darragh: A man in his 40s has died during Storm Darragh on Saturday after a tree fell on to his van while he was driving on a dual carriageway, Lancashire police said. Police said emergency services were called at around 9am on Saturday after the incident on the A59 at Longton near to the Lancashire police’s headquarters. The Energy Networks Association said 177,000 homes in England, Scotland and Wales are without power. A spokesperson said about 768,000 customers have been reconnected on Saturday, with more than 1,000 engineers ready to be deployed. As of 11.30am on Saturday, 325,000 homes, farms and businesses across Ireland were without power as a result of the storm, said ESB Networks. At 7am, the number stood at approximately 395,000 customers. ESB Networks have said full restoration is expected to take several days. Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) said about 46,000 customers were without power on Saturday morning after a night of high winds. NIE Networks added this number could continue to rise. It said damage including broken overhead power lines, fallen trees across lines and broken poles will require repair work expected to continue into Sunday. Wind gusts reached 93mph, the Met Office said on Saturday, with the strongest being recorded in Capel Curig in north Wales. A major incident has been declared in parts of Wales because of disruption from Storm Darragh. Dyfed-Powys police said it was continuing to experience high volumes of calls about fallen trees and poor driving conditions. A number of rail services and flights were disrupted by Storm Darragh and some roads were closed due to fallen trees on Saturday. Air traffic control provider Nats said on Saturday morning that temporary air traffic restrictions were in place at Heathrow and Gatwick airports. Trains and some bus services in Northern Ireland were suspended on Saturday until further notice. The Premier League match between Everton and Liverpool was postponed on Saturday due to adverse weather conditions. The Merseyside derby between Everton and Liverpool at Goodison Park was due to kick off at 12.30pm. A number of other football fixtures were postponed too, while Saturday afternoon’s race meetings at both Aintree and Chepstow was called off due to the strong winds. Storm Darragh has had “very significant effects in many parts of Wales, including on transport, energy infrastructure and property”, the Welsh first minister and her deputy have said. In a joint statement from Eluned Morgan and Huw Irranca-Davies on Saturday, they said “people should be vigilant as the effects of Storm Darragh may be felt for some days yet”. Storm Darragh has also brought travel disruption to Scotland, with wind and rain battering much of the country. The train line between Ayr and Girvan was shut after a large tree fell on to the tracks, while snow gates were closed on roads in the north-east of Scotland. An amber wind warning is in place for parts of Dumfries and Galloway and South Ayrshire until 9pm on Saturday. Heavy wind and rain are also expected along the east coast of Scotland into Saturday night. Storm Darragh is also expected to bring heavy rain over the weekend, with 15 flood warnings in place in England on Saturday. The Environment Agency said river flooding is likely in parts of Hereford. An amber warning for rain is in place in Wales from 3am to 6pm on Saturday with heavy rain likely to lead to disruption to transport and infrastructure. A yellow warning for rain is in place for Northern Ireland and Wales, both of which were badly affected by flooding during Storm Bert. In parts of Scotland a yellow weather warning was in place from 3pm on Friday until noon on Saturday. The Met Office said periods of heavy rain in south and mid-Wales through Saturday are likely, with totals of 80-90mm are possible by the evening, which is about half a month’s worth of rain in one day. In London, all eight of the royal parks were closed due to severe wind gusts. The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for strong winds across England and Wales on Sunday. The yellow weather warning will be in place from 6am on Sunday until 6pm. More than 170,000 homes in England, Scotland and Wales without power The Energy Networks Association said 177,000 homes in England, Scotland and Wales are without power. A spokesperson said about 768,000 customers have been reconnected on Saturday, with more than 1,000 engineers ready to be deployed. National Express have said that they are getting back to normal after the disruption caused by Storm Darragh. In an update posted a couple of hours ago on X, the coach travel company, advised customers to check its coach tracker before travel as there are still some amber and yellow weather warnings in place. Due to the Met Office’s red weather warning, some of the National Express services late on Friday to midday on Saturday were cancelled. The picture desk have put together this gallery of weather pictures: Speaking about Storm Darragh, Helen Hooker, flood and climate scientist at the University of Reading, said: Recovery from the devastating flooding caused by Storm Bert had barely begun when Storm Darragh hit this weekend. Storm clusters are common, but climate change is making rainfall more intense. When storms come one after another, the heavier rainfall lands on already wet ground, worsening flooding. After a very wet autumn for England, and four named storms by the start of December that have already led to some floods, the UK is experiencing the kind of volatility of extreme weather that we expect to see more of as the world gets warmer.” All train services on the North Wales Coast Line were suspended until further notice after a tree fell, Network Rail said. Meanwhile, the owners of Llandudno pier in north Wales said on Facebook that the tourist attraction had taken an “absolute battering”, with an ice-cream unit “completely gone” and Penderyn Store, an “original 150-year-old unit”, tipped on its side. Major incident declared in parts of Wales due to Storm Darragh disruption A major incident has been declared in parts of Wales because of disruption from Storm Darragh, reports the PA news agency. Dyfed-Powys police said it was continuing to experience high volumes of calls about fallen trees and poor driving conditions. Supt Chris Neve said: I have this morning declared a major incident for the counties of Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire and Powys, which means that together with our partners, we can call on the resources we need to respond to the challenges brought by Storm Darragh. I’d like to reassure the public that at this time, Dyfed-Powys police is still able to respond to priority calls for service. We have robust plans in place to respond to Storm Darragh, and we continue to work extremely closely with partner agencies to do so through local resilience arrangements and close working on the ground. The safety of the public remains our top priority and I am urging everyone to take the warnings that have been issued seriously. I’d like to thank our communities for their support at this time, and once again ask that you avoid unnecessary travel and follow all official advice to stay safe.”