Hurricane Ophelia 2017 Latest News: Three Died in Separate Incidents Across The British Isles
Three people have died after Hurricane Ophelia lashed out across Ireland and the UK.
Reports revealed that the first person who passed away due to the raging storm was identified as Clare O'Neill, a 50-year-old woman from Aglish, Waterford, Ireland. The cancer support coordinator was reportedly hit by a fallen tree while on her way to Co Waterford on Monday morning.
She also had a 70-year-old female passenger with her who was taken to the University Hospital Waterford to be treated for several non-fatal injuries.
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Meanwhile, the second victim of Hurricane Ophelia was a man named Michael Pyke from Ardfinnan. According to reports, the 31-year-old suffered a fatal injury while clearing a fallen tree in Ballybrado, Tipperary.
A still unidentified male victim also reportedly met his fate in Ravensdale, Dundalk, Ireland after his car was struck by a tree.
RTE posted a statement from Taoiseach Leo Varadkar regarding the Category 3 hurricane that peaked on Saturday, Oct. 14. Varadkar condoles with the families of the victims and reiterated the need to put everyone's safety first to avoid losing another life.
He also relied the message of British Prime Minister Theresa May, saying, "On Storm Ophelia, the Prime Minister expressed her sympathies for the loss of life and said the UK government stood ready to provide any support if requested."
Aside from the fatalities, Hurricane Ophelia also left major destructions across the British Isles. Its strong winds caused as much as 360,000 homes without power due to toppled trees and power lines all over Wales and Northern Ireland. It also ripped the roofs off several buildings in Cork due to its 118 mph wind. Ophelia also caused a lot of roads to be closed for traffic across Ireland to avoid further accidents.
Meanwhile, those in Britain also felt the impact of the weather disturbance as the schools were in southwestern Wales' Pembrokeshire were closed until Tuesday, Oct. 17, and the northwestern and southwestern areas of England were issued with flood warnings.
