Freak hurricane kills 3 in Ireland

Hurricane Ophelia killed three in Ireland, the worst storm to hit the country in decades. 

Storm Ophelia is battering Scotland and Northern England after leaving three people dead and hundreds of thousands without power in Ireland.

One victim was a woman who was driving near the Irish village of Aglish on Monday when a tree fell on her car.

The former Atlantic hurricane downed trees and power lines, sent waves surging over coastal defenses and disrupted flights again Tuesday, a day after making landfall on Ireland’s south coast with gusts of almost 100 miles an hour (160 kilometers an hour).

Britain’s Met Office weather service said Scotland could see heavy rain and gusts of up to 70 mph (113 kph), with winds gradually diminishing through Tuesday.

Schools in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland were closed for a second day as authorities assessed the damage from the worst storm to hit Ireland in decades.

Irish authorities said it could take several days to restore power to 330,000 homes.

Powerful gusts  were reported 30 years to the day after a weather event dubbed the “Great Storm of 1987” battered southern England and killed 18 people.

By: AP