Hurricane Ophelia update LIVE: ‘Trees are bent in two’ 5,000 without power, schools closed

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HURRICANE Ophelia is barrelling into Ireland with the entire country subject to a red weather alert. More than 5,000 homes are already without power and people are being urged to batten down the hatches and stay indoors. Most of the country is in lockdown with public transport services, schools, creches, colleges, shops, courts and outpatient clinics all suspending services. More than 140 flights have been cancelled in and out of the country's airports. The worst of Ophelia is now approaching south and south-western Ireland but residents in Cork are already in the midst of the violent and destructive storm with up to 1,600 people already without power and a number of roads blocked by fallen trees. A County Cork resident said: “Trees are bent in two, the noise of the wind is unbelievable. "Things are hitting against my window and the sky has turned an eerily yellow colour. The trees are unbelievable. There's hardly any leaves left on them."

Sean Hogan, national director for fire and emergency management, described the storm as an “extreme weather event.” He said: “The comparable weather event we are looking at is Hurricane Debbie in 1961.

“Everyone in the country needs to take heed of what’s coming. "The swathe of the area affected by the storm may exceed 100km.” Experts fear Ophelia could leave a £620 million trail of destruction. Ophelia, which has been downgraded to an ex-tropical storm, is still considered life-threatening and is unprecedented in Ireland. But forecaster Joanna Donnelly warned people "not to get hung up on the terminology" as the storm makes landfall "with all its energy still intact".

Ms Donnelly said Ophelia is set to be the most extreme weather event in Ireland since 1961. She said: “It is on its way. It has not veered off course.” Speaking on RTE Radio One's Morning Ireland, Ms Donnelly said her concern is that "people will wake up this morning and think it's calm”. She said: ”You could get caught in the middle of the day. "It's not a hurricane, the construction of the storm downgraded last night to an ex-hurricane, but we still have potential for hurricane force winds and hurricane force gusts. "It's a little bit of a technicality the way we name it, but people shouldn't get hung up on the terminology. "We're worried about the strength of the winds.