Hurricane Ophelia: Flock of birds circle ominously over Ireland just before powerful storm hits
Ophelia has killed at least two people
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Your support makes all the difference.An ominous video of crows circling the sky before the remnants of Hurricane Ophelia battered Ireland's southern coast has been shared widely on social media.
The footage, tweeted by Sarah Kavanagh, who lives in Cork, showed the birds flying away around 8am.
"Ummmm... think they know there’s something big coming?" Ms Kavanagh asked.
Ophelia, now a tropical storm, claimed its first victim after a woman died when a tree fell on her car in severe winds.
The Garda said the driver was in her mid 50s and was travelling outside Aglish Village in County Waterford when she was killed.
A female passenger, in her 70s, was also injured and taken to Waterford Regional Hospital for treatment, gardai said. Her injuries are not believed to be life-threatening at this time.
Later, a man in his 30s was killed in a chainsaw accident in Cahir, County Tipperary, when he was trying to clear a tree downed by violent winds.
Gusts of over 96mph (156kph) have already battered the south west coast of Ireland.
Gardai have urged all road users to remain indoors and not to travel unless absolutely necessary.
Trees and power lines have been blown over as the storm makes its way through the Republic of Ireland up into Northern Ireland.
In the Irish Republic, schools, nurseries and colleges have been closed, court sittings postponed, numerous hospital outpatient appointments cancelled and the Defence Forces put on standby.
The Met Office issued an amber weather warning for Northern Ireland and warned of "potential danger to life".
The differing severity of alerts north and south of the border is more due to differences in the way Met Eireann and the Met Office rate threats, rather than an indication that Northern Ireland will not be hit as hard.
In regard to Northern Ireland, the Met Office said: "There is a good chance that power cuts may occur, with the potential to affect other services, such as mobile phone coverage.
"Flying debris is likely, such as tiles blown from roofs, as well as large waves around coastal districts with beach material being thrown on to coastal roads, sea fronts and properties.
"This leads to the potential for injuries and danger to life."
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