Northern Ireland is in “the eye of the storm” with a real threat to life and property, the First Minister has said.Some 93,000 homes and businesses were without electricity and police said there were more than 70 reports of trees down and other obstructions on the roads early on Friday as Storm Eowyn battered the region.

Record high winds from Storm Eowyn battered Ireland and Northern Ireland on Friday, leaving almost one-third of Irish homes and businesses without power and forcing cancellation of hundreds of flights and the closure of schools and public transport.

Ireland's national weather service says the country has seen 114 mph wind gusts, the highest ever recorded on the island.