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This scene in Markethill Road, Craigavon, has been replicated across Northern Ireland

NIE An electrical utility pole has fallen on the roof of a house — This scene in Markethill Road, Craigavon, has been replicated across Northern Ireland

Community assistance centres are open for the thousands of households who are still without power after Storm Darragh.

Latest figures from NIE Networks show that about 95,000 customers were affected by power cuts over the course of the storm, with just under 12,000 customers remaining without power.

NIE Networks say it may be a number of days before they can reconnect all those affected.

The energy provider said it had deployed 600 staff and was working to bring in additional personnel from across the UK.

NIE Networks operations manager Alex Houston said: “Most of the faults affecting high numbers of customers have been repaired which has allowed us to restore significant numbers of customers.

“However, there are still around 1,200 faults across the network some of which are affecting very small numbers of customers so we do anticipate that it will take some time before we can get all of these cleared.”

The operation to restore power is under way in Markethill Road in Craigavon

Work men in yellow high visibility clothing are working with heavy machinery at the back of a house. — The operation to restore power is under way in Markethill Road in Craigavon

Paul and his son Luca had been without electricity for about 24 hours

A man and his son stood outside their white home. The father is wearing a khaki winter coat and the young boy under his arm is wearing a blue Northern Ireland football kit. Both are smiling at the camera — Paul and his son Luca had been without electricity for about 24 hours

Paul Wright and his son Luca were among those affected by power cuts on the Markethill Road area in Craigavon.

“We’ve been without electricity for about 24 hours.

“So we’re doing a lot of talking to each other instead of playing with our tablets.

“We’ve been lucky to have family close by.”

Assistance centres

NIE Networks will open community assistance across Northern Ireland on Sunday.

From 14:00 to 16:00 GMT on 8 December, leisure centres in the following areas will open to offer assistance to those still without power:

South Lake Leisure Centre in Craigavon
Lagan Valley Leisureplex in Lisburn
Ards Blair Mayne in Newtownards
Seven Towers in Ballymena
Cookstown Leisure Centre
Kilkeel Leisure Centre
Fermanagh Lakeland Forum

Additionally, Coleraine Leisure Centre will open from noon until 15:00 GMT on Sunday.

The centres will offer warm drinks, charging and changing facilities and NIE Networks staff will be on hand to answer any queries.

The Red Cross will also be working with NIE to provide support in a number of locations across Northern Ireland.

Storm Darragh causes widespread disruption in Northern Ireland

An amber warning for wind – the second highest level of weather warning – was issued from 01:00 GMT until 15:00 on Saturday.

A yellow wind warning had them come in until 06:00 on Sunday.

The Department for Infrastructure (DfI) said it responded to about 900 incidents, mainly debris on roads, fallen trees and flooding.

Essential travel only was advised on Saturday and there were several road traffic accidents.

A substantial number of road closures remain in place and road users are advised to plan their journeys in advance.

Electricity generation was temporarily suspended at Ballylumford power station

Maxine Johnston Ballylumford power station - white chimneys, one is visibly damaged and bent, dwellings and mountains visible in background — Electricity generation was temporarily suspended at Ballylumford power station

At one point on Saturday morning, there were no trains running in Northern Ireland but many lines have now resumed albeit with delays.

Bus services, flights and ferries were also affected.

Electricity generation was temporarily suspended at Ballylumford, one of Northern Ireland’s main power stations, after the natural gas-fired power station reported structural damage to one of its smaller chimneys.

A number of festive events were cancelled and councils closed some facilities on Saturday and Sunday.

All six Irish Premiership games were cancelled, with late postponements having left fans in an “appalling situation”, according to Communities Minister Gordon Lyons.