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DUBLIN - A wave killed a man in Northern Ireland overnight as storms swept Ireland and Britain with wind gusts of up to 150km/h.
Paul Bogues, 47, died late on Sunday after a wave struck him in the fishing village of Ardglass near Belfast.
"The man received head injuries after being hit by a wave which knocked him off the harbour wall onto the ground," a police spokeswoman said. He was the father of a man missing since January when a fishing vessel sank in the Irish Sea.
In the Republic of Ireland the meteorological service issued a severe weather alert and warned of sea gales reaching storm force 10 or 11 off the coast.
"Stormy for the rest of the day, with west to southwest winds giving damaging gusts," Met Eireann said on its website today.
"Heavy rain or showers with hail and thunderstorms in places, and some localised flooding."
Fallen trees, debris and mudslides blocked roads north and south of the border with the AA Roadwatch motoring organisation warning of "extremely dangerous" driving conditions and floods across the island, particularly on the south and west coasts.
Some of the worst flooding was in the town of Crossmolina, near Ireland's Atlantic coast, according to RTE radio.
The state broadcaster reported that three streets in the town were under water and that emergency services were preparing to evacuate families there after the River Deel burst its banks.
The Electricity Supply Board said about 12,000 Irish customers were without power as a result of the storms while horse racing at Fairyhouse, north of Dublin, was postponed due to the severe weather.
Ferry sailings from Ireland and Britain also were disrupted.
Ireland's meteorological service said it expected the wind and rain to ease in most areas overnight but forecast more unsettled weather for the week ahead.
- REUTERS
