Thousands without power after Storm Darragh batters UK

London: Tens of thousands of homes across the UK are without electricity after Storm Darragh brought strong winds and heavy rain to the west of the country.

The storm has caused significant disruption in south Wales, western England and Northern Ireland, with many train services and flights cancelled. A man in his 40s has also died after a tree fell onto his van.

A rare Met Office red warning of potentially life-threatening weather in western and southern Wales and the Bristol Channel coast was in place from 03:00 to 11:00 GMT.

Around three million people received a government emergency alert on their mobiles on Friday evening giving advice about the storm.

Two maps of the UK side by side. The left one shows an amber wind warning covering parts of Northern Ireland and the west coast of England, Wales and Scotland. It has text on it to suggest wind gusts can reach up to 80mph.

The right one shows a red wind warning covering western Wales, with gusts saying speeds will reach 90mph.

The alert added that people should “consider gathering torches, batteries, a mobile phone power pack and other essential items you already have at home”, in case of power cuts.

Friday’s message was the largest use yet of the UK warning system and made a loud siren-like sound when delivered to devices, lasting for around 10 seconds.

“Being outside in high winds makes you vulnerable to injury. Stay indoors if you can,” it said.

Wind gusts of 93mph have been recorded in Capel Curig, north Wales, and 92mph in Aberdaron on the Llyn Peninsula.

Gusts of 80-90mph have been recorded around the Irish Sea since about 03:00.

The UK is past the peak of the strongest wind gusts from Storm Darragh, which will range between 70-85mph for much of today in the west of the UK.

At least 48,000 properties were without power in Wales, the National Grid said.

Northern Ireland Electricity Networks said power cuts were affecting more than 46,000 premises.

In Lancashire, a man in his 40s died after a tree fell onto his Citroen van, police said.

Emergency services were called at around 09:00 after the incident on the A59 at Longton. He died at the scene.

Bristol Airport warned passengers that “disruption is expected” over the weekend and passengers are advised to check with their airline before travelling.

Cardiff Airport said it will not operate flights during the red warning and advised travellers to contact their airline or tour operator.

All rail services in the west of Cardiff have been suspended.

Nick Millington, a Network Rail route director, said multiple trees have fallen on the line.

“It’s a very dynamic situation,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

Both bridges linking England and south Wales – the M4 Prince of Wales Bridge and M48 Severn Bridge – have been closed.

In Wales, all domestic football and rugby matches scheduled for Saturday have been cancelled, as has Cardiff City’s Championship fixture against Watford which had been due to kick off at 15:00.

Richard Griffiths, owner of the Richmond Hotel in Aberystwyth, said the town was in “complete darkness” following a power cut this morning.

All of London’s Royal Parks will be closed on Saturday, including the Winter Wonderland attraction in Hyde Park.

Horse races planned this afternoon at Aintree in Merseyside and Chepstow in south Wales have been abandoned due to the weather.

A Premier League match between Everton and Liverpool, scheduled at Merseyside’s Goodison Park, has also been postponed. It is the first top-flight derby to be cancelled because of the storm.

In Northern Ireland, where there is an amber weather warning until 21:00 GMT, multiple Christmas events have been cancelled this weekend.

Belfast City Council said its Christmas market would be closed on Saturday, while the Enchanted Winter Garden events at Antrim Castle Gardens had been cancelled for Friday and Saturday.

Storm Darragh is also expected to bring heavy rain over the weekend, with 120 flood alerts – meaning flooding is possible – in England.

There are 55 flood alerts in Wales, which was badly affected by flooding during Storm Bert and where the ground is still very saturated.

Amber weather warnings in Northern Ireland, Wales and western England are in place until Saturday morning, while other parts of the UK have lower-level yellow weather warnings.

Storm Darragh is the fourth named storm of the season following Bert and Conall which caused severe flooding last month.