Thousands Without Power and Train Lines Closed as Impact of Storm Darragh Lingers

A fallen tree in the aftermath of Storm Darragh in Swainshill, Herefordshire, England, on Dec. 8, 2024. Jacob King/PA Wire

Tens of thousands of people were still left without electricity on Monday morning after Storm Darragh brought strong winds to many parts of the UK over the weekend.

The Energy Networks Association (ENA) said that 66,000 customers were without power as of 8 a.m. on Monday.

The network said that owing to the adverse weather conditions over the weekend, it had been “too dangerous for engineers to safely work” in some locations.

Northern Ireland Electricity Networks (NIE) said 1,500 households had no power early on Monday, following “extensive damage” caused by the storm to the network.

NIE said it estimates that the vast majority of its customers will have power restored by Monday evening, “with potential that small pockets will remain off supply into Tuesday.”

Flood Alerts and Warnings

Storm Darragh, the fourth named storm of the season, battered many parts of the British Isles over the weekend—particularly the island of Ireland, western England, and Wales—with millions of people in the worst affected areas advised not to leave the house.

Winds reached a high of 96 mph at Berry Head in Devon on Saturday. Blackouts persisted in some parts of the country, with the ENA saying 118,000 households were without electricity by Sunday evening.

Disruption and high winds continue to linger on Monday, with the Met Office issuing more than 120 flood alerts and 35 flood warnings. The weather service warned that water levels on the River Severn in Shropshire and Worcestershire will remain high until Wednesday.

Winds and rainfall are expected to ease, with Met Office meteorologist Liam Eslick saying: “Storm Darragh has now moved its way off towards the south east, so things are going to start to settle down over the next couple of days.

“But it is still going to remain quite blustery, especially for south and south east of England, for the next day at least.”

Train Lines Closed

Many parts of the country have also seen rail travel affected, with several lines across England and Wales closed owing to debris and fallen trees.

On Monday, passengers have been warned to expect delays and cancellations to services on the West Coast Main Line between London Euston and Scotland.

Transport for Wales said all lines are blocked on 11 routes, including between Swansea and Shrewsbury.

Chris Baughan, Network Rail’s West Coast South route operations manager, said, “Storm Darragh has wreaked havoc on the railway this weekend and we are very sorry to passengers for the disruption to train services this morning on the West Coast Main Line as frontline teams continue with emergency repairs and the clean-up.”

A flood warden pushes a boat in floodwater after Storm Darragh hit the UK and Ireland in Greyfriars Avenue in Hereford, Herefordshire, England, on Dec. 8, 2024. Jacob King/PA Wire

2 Men Killed

Two men were killed by falling trees hitting their cars in separate incidents on Saturday.

The first victim of Storm Darragh was named locally as football coach Paul Fiddler, with Lytham Town FC in West Lancashire paying tribute to him on their Facebook page. Fiddler, in his 40s, was killed on Saturday morning when a tree fell onto his van.

Flooding after Storm Darragh in Acaster Malbis near York, England, on Dec. 9, 2024. Danny Lawson/PA Wire

Another man died when a tree fell and hit his car in Erdington in the West Midlands on Saturday afternoon.

PA Media contributed to this report.