Storm Ciara: Power cuts amid heavy rain and wind warnings
- Published
Parts of the promenade are closed in Newcastle, County Down
A yellow weather warning for wind remains in place across Northern Ireland due to Storm Ciara.
The Met Office said the warning remains in place until just before midnight. A warning for rain expired at 12:00 GMT.
The Department for Infrastructure said a small number of roads were closed due to localised flooding.
Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey announced emergency funding for councils.
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A number of flights were cancelled from Belfast City Airport on Sunday evening.
Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service said it is assisting with removing water from flooded gardens in Gortmore Gardens in Omagh, County Tyrone.
SDLP MLA Daniel McCrossan said that he had spoken to infrastructure minister Nichola Mallon who said the area is being treated as a priority.
"I've been informed that a multi-agency taskforce to deal with the worst impact of Storm Ciara has been set up while essential pumping is continuing and sandbags delivered to those in need," he said.
Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) said early afternoon on Sunday that fewer than 200 of its customers were without power.
There was heavy rainfall in Enniskillen
Met Éireann upgraded its wind warning to its second highest level across the Republic of Ireland for Sunday morning.
About 14,000 homes and businesses were without power in the Republic on Sunday due to the bad weather, which coincided with the start of counting in the country's general election.
ESB said all power should be restored by Sunday night.
The opening ceremony to celebrate Galway's year as European Capital of Culture was cancelled on Saturday morning as organisers said it was "deemed unsafe to go ahead".
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Northern Ireland's government agencies met on Friday to prepare for the severe weather.
Wind warning in place for coming days
By Angie Phillips, BBC News NI weather presenter
Storm Ciara moved in during Sunday morning bringing heavy rain and severe gales.
Gusts reached 72 mph at Malin Head but even less exposed parts of Northern Ireland had gusts over 60mph.
The wind and rain caused quite a bit of disruption, with local power cuts, flooding and large waves, which lead to coastal flooding as well.
The storm has now moving away but even though the winds peaked today, there is still a wind warning in place for the next couple of days as gusts will still be 50 to 60mph at times in exposed areas.
Flooding in Lisnaskea, County Fermanagh
Snow has also been added to the warning as colder air moves in.
A few centimetres of snow will gather on hills, especially above 150 metres. Lower levels may also see ice and snow showers, especially at night but the snow is less likely to settle during daylight hours when generally it'll be a wintry mix of rain, sleet and wet snow.
Some could be thundery too.
The wind eventually starts to ease a little as we head into Wednesday, but there'll still be some sleet and snow showers and it'll be an icy start. A warning for snow and ice has been issued.
The Department of Transport's roads and rivers teams have been checking and clearing road gullies and drainage grills and staff will be on standby across the weekend.
Silent Valley Reservoir, a popular visitor site in the Mourne Mountains, was closed "until further notice" as Northern Ireland Water considers the potential impact of the weather.
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This is the third locally-named storm of the winter season after Storm Atiyah in December and Storm Brendan last month.
Storm Brendan led to power cuts affecting thousands of customers, while part of the sea wall at Carrickfergus, County Antrim, collapsed.
Met Éireann said the "unsettled weather with strong winds and potentially stormy conditions" look set to continue into the early days of next week, with cold weather prevailing".
It said there was a higher risk of coastal flooding due to spring tides, high seas and stormy conditions, especially for southern, western, and north-western coasts.
A further Met Office warning has been issued for wind and snow in Northern Ireland on Monday and Tuesday, with snow mainly gathering above 150m (492ft).
Snow, coupled with strong winds, is likely to lead to blizzard conditions over high ground with lightning strikes also possible.
The warning, which comes into force at midnight on Sunday until 12:00 on Tuesday, covers counties mainly towards the north coast.
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