A HUGE clear-up operation was continuing across many parts of Ireland last night in the wake of Storm Ophelia.
Three people died when the ex-hurricane, the strongest storm to hit Ireland in almost 60 years, battered the island on Monday.
Work to clear fallen trees and debris took place throughout yesterday, with the worst affected counties in the north being Down, Armagh and Antrim.
Several roads in south Belfast including Dunmurry Lane and Upper Malone Road were blocked by trees and a fallen telegraph pole.
Trees and headstones were also damaged in the City Cemetery.
The PSNI had dealt with almost 500 storm-related calls between 7am and 9pm on Monday.
Around 2,000 homes and businesses in the north last night remained without electricity due to damage from gusts of up to 70mph.
Over 55,000 customers restored after #StormOphelia. Here's a map showing affected areas https://t.co/lsdtw65IFt pic.twitter.com/mRBVNPJ7yA
— NIE Networks (@NIElectricity) October 20, 2017
Power was restored to more than 50,000 customers, with the Newry and Downpatrick areas experiencing most disruption.
However, south of the border, around 150,000 households were still without power and repairs in some areas were expected to take days.
Tens of thousands of homes were also without water supplies last night.
The Republic bore the brunt of the Storm Ophelia, and hundreds of council workers and Defence Force soldiers were deployed to clear roads and assess the extent of structural damage to public buildings.
People in the worst affected areas, from Wexford to Skibbereen in Co Cork, were asked to conserve their water supply while repair work continues as reservoirs are re-filled.
Electricity crews from Northern Ireland joined efforts to restore power yesterday while others from Scotland and France are expected to be drafted in to help from today.
Schools on both sides of the border remained closed for a second day as authorities assessed any damage, but most are expected to open today.
Health services in the north have returned to normal and officials said anyone who missed appointments on Monday due to the weather will not be penalised and appointments will be rearranged as soon as possible.
Transport services were also largely restored yesterday, although some flights and ferries were cancelled for a second day.
In Scotland, the clear-up was also underway after Storm Ophelia damaged buildings and brought down trees overnight.
Part of a tenement block in Glasgow collapsed yesterday morning. No-one was injured at the block in Albert Road, Crosshill, which had previously been earmarked for partial demolition.
-----------------
STORM OPHELIA
:: Three people died during the storm. Fintan Goss, a 33-year-old father-of-two, was killed in Co Louth when a car he was in was struck by a tree, while Michael Pyke (31) died in Cahir, Co Tipperary in a chainsaw accident when he was trying to clear a tree. Nurse Clare O'Neill, who would have turned 59 on Tuesday, also died when a tree fell on her car in severe wind near Aglish village in Co Waterford. Her elderly mother, who was travelling with her, was injured
:: At the peak of the storm at around 4pm on Monday, 385,000 homes and businesses were without power in the Republic. In Northern Ireland the maximum number of people without power at any one time was 20,000
:: A day on from the storm, 80,000 people were still without water supply in the Republic
:: The storm first hit Counties Kerry and Cork at around 5am and the eye of the storm passed over Valentia Observatory at around 10am
:: The strongest gusts of the day were recorded as 119mph at Fastnet Lighthouse off the south west coast
