Storm Isha Wreaks Havoc, Two dead and Thousands Left Without Power in Aftermath

At least two have been reported dead, and thousands of residents were left without power in the aftermath of the deadly storm Isha that brought heavy rain and winds up to 99mph. Several areas including Scotland, Northern Ireland, north-west England and Wales suffered power outages with no prospect of power until Tuesday.

At least 53,000 homes were left without electricity in Northern Ireland. As many as 30,000 residences were without power across England, Wales and Scotland, the Energy Networks Association (ENA) said.

Working hard to restore power to thousands of homes: UK PM Rishi Sunak

UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, said that his administration was working hard to restore power to thousands of homes and conduct the search and rescue. "We've got to get engineers out but we can only do that when it is safe, when the winds have dropped down sufficiently," he said in an interview with BBC Radio 4, adding that government will deploy helicopters and drones. Dozens of schools were shuttered in UK, an estimated 38 primary and secondary schools as per the Highland Council in northern Scotland.

Among those dead, there was an 84-year-old man in Scotland whose car crashed into a fallen tree in Grangemouth, Falkirk. Another Storm Jocelyn is expected to bring strong winds and heavy rainfall to Northern Ireland, and other parts of UK. Heavy gusts of winds  55 and 65mph (90 to 100km/h) are expected across Scotland.

Storm Isha led to fast winds of 99mph (159km/h), the strongest in 10 to 20 years, in Northumberland. Met Office said that the speed of the winds was 99mph at Brizlee Wood in Northumberland that caused damages to the roadways and uprooted trees. Planes headed to the UK were either diverted or made the challenging landing at London’s Heathrow airport. UK’s Met Office issued another amber warnings at around 18:00 GMT on Sunday.