A woman in her 50s has died after the caravan she was staying in was blown onto a beach in Co Galway as Storm Ali swept the country on Wednesday.

The woman, who has been named as Elvira Ferraii from Switzerland, was staying on her own in the caravan at the Clifden ecoBeach Camping and Caravan Park when the incident occurred.

She was confirmed dead at the scene in Claddaghduff, north of Clifden on Wednesday morning. Gardaí said they received a report at 7.45am that a caravan had blown away. A search was carried out on the beach and the woman’s body was found a short time later.

It is believed the caravan was swept from a ledge down an incline and may have somersaulted before landing on the tideline.

A fallen tree on a car at Cuff Street, Dublin, during Storm Ali. Photograph: Daithí Walsh

Her body was taken for a postmortem examination and the local coroner notified. Gardaí said they are investigating the incident.

Meanwhile, a man has died and another has been seriously injured after a storm-related incident in the Slieve Gullion forest park area of Newry.

The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service received a call at 12.13pm saying a tree had struck two men.

A road that was closed after the incident at Slieve Gullion forest park near Newry, Co Down. Photograph: Brian Lawless/PA

One of the men, aged in his 20s, died and the other man, in his 40s, is currently in a serious condition at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast. The man who died was an engineer working for the Northern Ireland Water utility.

A postmortem is due to be carried out on the deceased.

Storm Ali: What we know so far

A woman in her 50s has died after the caravan she was staying in was blown onto a beach in Co Galway.

A man in his 20s has died after being struck by a tree in Newry.

Some 67,000 homes and business remain without power.

The second day of the National Ploughing Championships in Screggan, Co Offaly, has been cancelled.

An orange wind warning for Connacht, Cavan, Monaghan, Donegal, Dublin, Kildare, Longford, Louth, Offaly, Westmeath, Meath, Clare and Kerry was in place until 1pm on Wednesday. A status yellow warning was in place for the entire country until 5pm on Wednesday.

A number of flights to and from Dublin Airport have been cancelled. Irish Ferries has also cancelled sailings to and from Dublin while Irish Rail reported disruptions on some of its services. Dublin Bus was also diverting some routes that are affected by fallen debris.

There is disruption to services on the Luas Green Line. Services on that line are running between Bride's Glen-Balally and Broombridge-Dawson only and there are no services between Balally and Dawson. Luas tickets are valid on Dublin Bus for the duration of the disruption, which is expected to take a number of hours to correct.

Dublin Fire Brigade and the gardaí reported a number of road blockages due to fallen trees and debris. A number of cars have been damaged and gardaí said one motorist received minor injuries.

The Phoenix Park in Dublin was closed, including Dublin Zoo. All traffic going towards the city was diverted down the Odd Lamp Road and to Chesterfield Avenue. The Cabra Gate is closed.

Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) Networks said about 22,000 customers remain without power in the North.

Significant damage

A yellow wind warning was in place for the entire country until 5pm on Wednesday.

Met Éireann said gusts of 143km/h were recorded at Mace Head in Co Galway while, in Co Mayo, gusts of 124km/h were recorded at Newport and 107km/h at Belmullet.

ESB networks said that, as of 7pm on Wednesday, approximately 67,000 electricity customers remained without power as a result of the storm, down from a total of 186,000. Some 2,000 individual faults on the network were recorded across the country on Wednesday.

The areas most impacted by power outages included: Cavan, Sligo, Donegal, Castlebar, Galway, Portlaoise, Dundalk, Mullingar and parts of north Co Dublin.

The ESB said affected customers should prepare to be without power for up to three days.

Large trees which fell due to Storm Ali beside the National Museum of Ireland on Kildare Street, Dublin. Photograph: Gareth Chaney/Collins

Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) said about 22,000 customers are without electricity across Northern Ireland, with power restored to more than 70,000 customers. It said conditions were “extremely challenging” for emergency crews on the ground.

At one stage on Wednesday, more than 250,000 homes and businesses were without power on both sides of the Border as power lines toppled.

The second day of the National Ploughing Championships in Screggan, Co Offaly, was cancelled due to health and safety concerns. The decision followed consultation between local authorities, Met Éireann and gardaí.

07.15hrs Westport to Dublin which was delayed and damaged by fallen trees earlier between Athlone and Tullamore, moving on from Tullamore at reduced speed to ensure safety due to windscreen damage pic.twitter.com/ENaIKqFAS4 — Iarnród Éireann (@IrishRail) September 19, 2018 Max. Gust (km/h) recorded during Storm Ali (prov.):



Mace Hd 147

Newpt 124

Claremorris 120

Malin Hd 117

Knock Airpt 117

Finner 113

Athenry 110

Belmullet 108

Shannon 107

Valentia 106

Baldonnel 106

Dublin Airpt 105

Casement 105

Gurteen 100

Mullingar 94

Johnstown C. 90 — Met Éireann (@MetEireann) September 19, 2018