Storm Bram: Latest as 'very dangerous winds' cause travel disruption and power outages

Thousands of people in Northern Ireland have experienced power supply disconnections due to the impact of Storm Bram.

The entire island of Ireland was placed under weather advisories after forecasting agencies upgraded their warnings on Tuesday as strong winds knocked trees and some areas experienced flooding on roads.

In the Republic around 54,000 were without power (as of 5pm).

Gusts of up to 119kmh (74mph) were recorded amid general wind speeds of up to 78kmh (48.5mph) at 1pm at the weather station at Sherkin Island.

In Northern Ireland, an outage map by NIE Networks showed thousands more properties disconnected from supply.

The storm resulted in some travel disruption, with 91 flights cancelled at Dublin Airport.

The track of the storm meant forecasters put in place rolling orange wind warnings for different regions throughout the day.

Meanwhile, warnings in Irish waters were upgraded with a status orange storm warning for all coasts and on the Irish sea applying until midnight.

In addition, red marine warnings were put in place for some coastal warnings until 6pm.

Forecasters advised that south to south-west winds will occasionally reach violent storm force 11.

In Northern Ireland, the UK Met Office issued a yellow wind warning for the entire region between 9am and 10pm.

A more severe amber warning for wind is in place for the western part of Northern Ireland, applying to counties Antrim, Fermanagh, Londonderry and Tyrone between 2pm and 7pm.

The poor weather has resulted in the closure of the Belfast Christmas Market on Tuesday.

The storm brought flooding on roads in areas such as Portadown and Warrenpoint.

The Met Office advised the public to expect delays to transport services and further warned that cancellations are possible.

It added that there was a chance of injuries and danger to life from flying debris, as well as damage to buildings and power outages.

Forecasters said gusts of around 60-70 mph are possible in the amber region, and potentially in excess of 80mph over coasts and hills.