More than 715,000 properties are without power and more than 60,000 without water in the Republic of Ireland as Storm Éowyn causes chaos across the island.

Gardaí (Irish police) are also investigating a possible weather link to a serious road incident in Donegal, near the border with Northern Ireland.

It happened on the N14, north of Lifford, near Ballinalecky Cross, but conditions are so dangerous that Gardaí were still not been able to reach the scene on Friday afternoon.

They are also warning people not to travel unless absolutely necessary as there may be fallen trees across the country as well as fallen or damaged live electricity wires.

In Donegal alone, 87,000 households were left without electricity on Friday and it was only when the red warning had lapsed that engineers were able to begin assessing the extent of the damage.

ESB Networks described the storm as "record-breaking" and said it had never experienced so many power cuts in the country before with any extreme weather event.

It said there was extensive damage to electricity infrastructure but that their crews would only start restoring power when it was safe to do so.

"Given the predicted extent of the damage nationwide, we anticipate restoration will take a significant number of days," ESB said.

Status red gale warnings have ended across the country but orange warnings remain in place.

A wind speed of 183kmh (114mph) brought by Storm Eowyn has been recorded in the Republic of Ireland, the fastest since records began, Irish forecaster Met Éireann said.

Met Éireann said a gust of 183kmh had been recorded at Mace Head, County Galway, at about 05:00 local time on Friday, just above the previous record high of 182kmh (113mph) set in January 1945 in Foynes, County Limerick.

It also reported the mean wind speed record of 131kmh (81mph) set in 1945 in Foynes has been broken during the storm, with up to 135kmh (84mph) at Mace Head at 04:00 local time.

The water service Uisce Éireann is beginning restoration efforts as about 60,000 people are without water and a further 500,000 at risk due to Storm Éowyn.

They said that number is likely to increase over the course of the day as the widespread powercuts continue at treatment plants and pumping stations, which will affect supplies.

Martin Homer and his family are one of many families in the Republic of Ireland that are staying in a crumbling home during Storm Éowyn.

Thousands of homes in counties like Donegal, Mayo, Clare and Limerick, are crumbling due to them being built with defective concrete blocks

Mr Homer said he was worried about the structural integrity of their house in County Donegal, which is scheduled to be demolished.

He said he was very worried after seeing parts of their exterior walls fall away due to the strong wings.

"It's a horrendous situation to live in, we wouldn't wish it on anyone, it's something you have to live in to truly experience," he told BBC News NI.

"We know it's not just us and there are so many out there living this nightmare.

"We are all terrified, every crunch or crack we hear is leaving us all terrified."

He appealed to anyone, like their family, currently living in a crumbling house to ensure both themselves and their loved ones are safe.