‘We’re in the eye of Storm Éowyn’: More than 93,000 homes and businesses without power

Speaking on the BBC’s Good Morning Ulster programme this morning she said ‘preparations are there’ as she urged the public to stay at home. 
It comes as more than more than 93,000 homes and businesses without power in NI
Emma Little-Pengelley said that people should follow advice and stay home, adding that there is a risk to life because of flying debris. 

“If people go out and get into a situation, then that is calling out those essential workers, and we don’t want people to come out to have to deal with those,” she added. 

“So we are advising everyone to stay at home, there is a significant outage on the electricity, I understand that almost 500 have been reported right throughout Northern Ireland, that was anticipated. 

“As the First Minister said, we have already had that briefing call this morning with our Civil Contingencies Group and the PSNI to ensure that all of the preparations are in place, that everything is running as it ought to.

“I want to reassure the public that the preparations are there, the network is there in terms of stepping up, but what you can do, and everyone can play their part in this, is to stay home.” 

“The storm will blow over, the worst of it is here at the moment, and over the next number of hours, but of course we will get through that. 

“We of course importantly have that information from other parts of this island this morning, because the storm has hit earlier in other parts. 

“So we know that this is serious, and as I said yesterday we always want to hope for the best but prepare for the worst. 

“This is a very serious storm, it is a red alert, there is a significant danger, particularly from flying debris. If something is going on outside your house, stay inside because the danger to you is from that flying debris over the next couple of hours.” 

Speaking to the BBC’s Good Morning Ulster programme this morning, First Minister Michelle O’Neill said the ‘threat is real’ as she urged people to take every precaution they can. 

Ms O’Neill said: “We’re in a very significant situation, it is a red alert. That is not, to I suppose, instill a fear in people but it is to say that the potential risk to life and property damage is very real. There is a genuine threat to life and property 

“So we’re asking the public to be very safe, to be very cautious, to take every precaution, to ensure they don’t take any unnecessary travel, to please just stay at home, if you can. 

“We’re in the eye of the storm now, we are in the period of the red alert, but people can see for themselves the wind has very much been picking up overnight. 
“We’ve just been briefed by the Civic Contingencies  Group, by the PSNI who are in the lead in terms of the storm response and they tell us the situation is as we outlined yesterday. 
“We’re still in a period of jeopardy in terms of the damage that could potentially be caused as a result of the storm. 
“I think the message the real message we want to get across to your listeners this morning is to please be ultra cautious, to please stay home if you can and we will see how the storm will rage.” 
Ms O’Neill added that the “threat is real” and urged people to take every precaution they can. 

Speaking as the red alert for Northern Ireland came into force the First Minister said it was a ‘challenging’ situation particularly for those working on the frontline and in essential services. 
“Health in particular is an area where they’re trying to manage the situation as best as they can,” she said. 
“Some non-essential services have been turned down, they’re not encouraging people to come for routine appointments but there is essential healthcare that is required. 
“I would ask people to be mindful that, particularly during the period of the red alert from 7 o’clock to 2 o’clock, we can’t send out essential healthcare workers or even maintenance people, because they would also be in danger, it’s a very challenging situation.” 
She added that urged employers head the current advice and to keep employees safe, but she accepted this would be very challenging for some people and services.