Northern Ireland is set to shut down this morning as it braced for the arrival of Storm Éowyn, forecast to be the most destructive to strike for more than 25 years.
The storm, with sweeping winds estimated between 80 and 100mph, is expected to hit land on the west coast early on Friday, with the north under the most severe red wind alert in place from 7am to 2pm.
It is the first ever red weather warning issued across the north since the establishment of the present coding system in 2011.
In an emergency alert issued by the UK and NI governments, the stark warning was that the winds can “present a danger to life”, with flying debris from damaged buildings, falling trees and large waves around coastal trees, with potential for flooding in low lying areas.
“Stay indoors if you can. It is not safe to drive in these conditions,” it said. Potential damage to infrastructure, including power, was predicted, along with possible disruption to mobile phone coverage.
No public transport will run while the red weather warning is in place, while most of the government has shut down, except those arms providing emergency services. This includes libraries, courts and driving test centres.
Many workers were expected to stay home, with shops closing. Tesco announced late on Thursday its stores will not open until the worst of the storm passes. No schools will open today.
Patients were told to assume appointments have been cancelled unless informed differently.
Health Minister Mike Nesbitt said: “I would urge people to follow the advice of the police and to stay home and stay safe until this major storm passes through.
“The key focus of the Health and Social Care system is on maintaining safe services for acutely unwell patients within our inpatient facilities and protecting urgent and emergency care.”
The Executive on Thursday evening promised emergency protocols have been activated, with response teams in place.
The red wind warning for strong winds is in place across the island and in south and parts of the west of Scotland.
The forecast was that it will be the most destructive storm since Boxing Day, 1998, during which widespread damage was caused to infrastructure and which severely impacted public services.