A man in his 60s has died in a road collision involving two vans and a fallen tree in Limavady, Co Londonderry, on Sunday night, the Police Service of Northern Ireland has said.
This is the second fatal road accident involving a tree during Storm Isha, following the death of an 84-year-old man in a collision with a fallen tree in Grangemouth, Scotland, on Sunday.
Speaking about the 84-year-old man, Road Policing Inspector Andrew Thomson said: “Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the man who died, and all those involved in the collision. We continue to offer them support as our enquiries progress.
Police are appealing for any witnesses to the two incidents, and are especially asking for dashcam footage of the crashes.
For the incident in Grangemouth, Scotland, contact 101 quoting reference 4198 on 21 January.
For the incident in Limavady, Northern Ireland, contact 101 quoting reference 1908 on 21 January.
A fallen tree and collapsed wall partially obstruct Dee Street in east Belfast after Storm Isha
PA
The deaths come as thousands of people were left without power, and transport was disrupted across the UK after Storm Isha tore through the country last night.
Gusts hit as high as 99mph in parts of the UK, with yellow warnings still in place for the whole country until noon today – and yellow wind warnings set to last until the same time on Wednesday.
A tree branch hit a car on Lisburn Road in Belfast during the storm
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Scotland, which saw a red wind warning issued between 1am and 5am this morning, received 50 flood warnings – almost double England’s 28.
In Northern Ireland, a person was hit by falling debris after winds dislodged scaffolding in Belfast, and 45,000 people were left without power.
Transport has been hit hardest by Storm Isha, with 50mph speed restrictions imposed across most routes country-wide by Network Rail.
In a statement, the company said: “It’s likely that travel disruption will continue into Monday morning as engineers finish the clean-up operation removing fallen trees and debris and running ‘ghost trains’ to ensure lines are clear before allowing passenger trains to restart.”
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Transport has been hit hardest by Storm Isha, with 50mph speed restrictions imposed across most routes country-wide by Network Rail
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Meanwhile, the remains of a garden shed were blown onto the line at Glasgow’s Bellgrove station, and a tree falling over on overhead wires caused a small fire in Gartcosh in Cumbernauld.
Man-made debris and at least 10 trees have been blown onto train lines near Glasgow, while an overnight watchperson was forced to abandon their post in Perthshire after the River Tay breached its safety limits.
No trains will run in Scotland until all routes had been inspected and overhead wires had been repaired, said Network Rail Scotland.
In England, East Midlands Railway has said delays and alterations to its services were “likely”, while Avanti West Coast warned passengers should not attempt to travel between Preston and Scotland until services resume at 9am.
A tree was blown over at the iconic Dark Hedges in Northern Ireland
Twitter/Ryan McKay
The storm has disrupted road travel across the country – this tree was blown over in Lymington, Hampshire
Twitter/New Forest District Council
Air traffic control restrictions due to the storm caused diversions and restrictions nationwide, with one flight from Sharm El Sheikh to Glasgow diverted to Manchester after declaring an emergency.
The highest recorded wind speed so far was 99mph at Brizlee Wood in Northumberland, while 90mph gusts battered Capel Curig in Snowdonia on Sunday.
The Met Office had warned a tornado could hit western parts of the UK, while a ‘tornado watch’ zone was issued across Northern Ireland and parts of England and Scotland by the Tornado and Storm Research Organisation earlier today.
Network Rail said it expects train services in Scotland to remain suspended until noon, and said it had been a “wild night”.
GB News' Sophie Reaper reporting from Blackpool this morning where the streets are "completely empty"
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A spokesperson said: “The railway has recovered quickly this morning following Storm Isha with trees and debris cleared across routes in England and Wales, and route proving trains reporting lines clear.
“Passenger and freight services have restarted, and a good service is expected in most areas. Passengers should still check before they head out for the latest travel news on trains operators’ websites.
“The exception is Scotland where we do not expect to be able to restart services until around midday with dozens of lines shut due to fallen trees and flooding.
“Hundreds of engineers are already out, armed with chainsaws and cherry pickers to remove and repair. Once done, route proving trains will be dispatched before passenger services can restart.
Huge waves were seen in Porthleven in Cornwall this morning as Storm Isha battered the UK
Twitter/James Kitto
“It’s been a wild night, but passengers and railway staff have been kept safe and we will work tirelessly to get the railway back on its feet as quickly as we can.”
The storm threatened to cut off the Isle of Man from the UK and Ireland after severe gales left ferries and flights cancelled.
Another Belfast-bound ferry, due to make port at 6:30pm, was unable to come into berth and was still stuck in rough seas until 11:30pm.
Storm Isha has wreaked havoc on local landmarks – one photo on social media showed a tree had been uprooted in Northern Ireland's iconic Dark Hedges.
Waves in Blackpool - England's north-west coast has been hit the hardest by Storm Isha
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Air travel was disrupted at airports including Manchester, Glasgow, Bristol, Heathrow, Gatwick and Edinburgh, with hundreds of cancellations and even more delays reported at Heathrow alone.
Some domestic and UK-Ireland flights have been diverted to France, with a Manchester to Dublin service diverted to the small northern French town of Beauvais, and an Edinburgh to Bristol flight sent to Paris.
These diversions have left some Britons stuck abroad, with passport-less domestic flyers left sleeping over in Paris Charles de Gaulle airport.
Elsewhere, 148 flights in and out of Dublin Airport were cancelled on Sunday, while 130 have been called off at Amsterdam’s Schipol Airport as Storm Isha heads to the Netherlands.