:00:08. > :00:14.Half a month's rainfall fell overnight in County Down
:00:15. > :00:17.as Storm Frank brought the worst weather here so far this winter.
:00:18. > :00:20.At one stage more than 200 roads were blocked and around 20,000 homes
:00:21. > :00:22.and businesses were without electricity.
:00:23. > :00:33.High winds and high seas made it a dangerous night.
:00:34. > :00:44.Hundreds of homes were affected as the storm raged.
:00:45. > :00:50.Many roads were also flooded, including those on the main routes
:00:51. > :00:54.It happened so quickly that some drivers were caught out,
:00:55. > :01:01.and only realised when it was too late.
:01:02. > :01:04.Ruth McKee was in a car that got stuck at 6am.
:01:05. > :01:07.She eventually made it to the airport, but the car did not.
:01:08. > :01:10.We were on it before we knew what it was.
:01:11. > :01:12.It was impossible to see it in that dark.
:01:13. > :01:18.High winds at the airport meant that more
:01:19. > :01:20.than 1000 passengers were stranded in planes when they arrived
:01:21. > :01:28.It was said to be too dangerous for them to walk
:01:29. > :01:31.You actually thought that you were still in the air.
:01:32. > :01:37.When he went to the toilet is, it was bouncing
:01:38. > :01:46.This is usually a popular footpath for those walking
:01:47. > :01:56.If you want some idea as to how much rain has
:01:57. > :01:59.been in recent days, just look around at the nearby
:02:00. > :02:06.Most of the province suffered about one inch of rain.
:02:07. > :02:09.We had isolated spots that had two inches of rain,
:02:10. > :02:12.and that is about half of the normal December total.
:02:13. > :02:17.Across the border, Cork and Galway have also
:02:18. > :02:24.The Army have been called in to try and limit the damage.
:02:25. > :02:27.The good news is that the worst of the storm has now passed.
:02:28. > :02:33.But everyone using the roads is advised to drive
:02:34. > :02:42.There's a security alert in Dundonald on the outskirts
:02:43. > :02:47.Within the last half hour a controlled explosion
:02:48. > :02:51.was carried out in the Millreagh Development.
:02:52. > :02:53.An army bomb disposal team has been examining a suspicious object
:02:54. > :03:02.Two 17 year olds have been arrested by police investigating the murder
:03:03. > :03:04.of Christopher Meeli in west Belfast.
:03:05. > :03:06.The 20-year-old was beaten and kicked to death at Glasvey Close
:03:07. > :03:15.The teenagers were arrested in the west of the city.
:03:16. > :03:17.A man who escaped from police custody at Londonderry magistrates
:03:18. > :03:19.court last Wednesday appeared again today at the same court.
:03:20. > :03:22.22-year-old Dean Beattie, from Glenowen Park in the city,
:03:23. > :03:23.is charged with escaping from lawful custody,
:03:24. > :03:26.and intimidating a man with intent to pervert the course of justice.
:03:27. > :03:33.He was remanded in custody to appear in court again in January.
:03:34. > :03:36.Newly released state papers from 1988 show that the Soviet Union
:03:37. > :03:38.asked the British government to investigate the cases
:03:39. > :03:43.More than 600 previously confidential files have been made
:03:44. > :03:46.available at the Public Record Office.
:03:47. > :03:52.Here's our political correspondent Chris Page.
:03:53. > :03:54.In the 1980s you would have expected British-
:03:55. > :03:58.on the Berlin Wall rather than what was going
:03:59. > :04:03.But 27 years ago, the Troubles and the Cold War collided.
:04:04. > :04:06.At a meeting in Moscow, the Soviets claimed that there
:04:07. > :04:08.were more than 400 political prisoners in Northern
:04:09. > :04:13.They asked Britain to investigate eight inmates in the maze.
:04:14. > :04:18.The Foreign Secretary was said to be astounded.
:04:19. > :04:29.People recalled Geoffrey Howe's shock and astonishment.
:04:30. > :04:34.It was different from usual human rights cases.
:04:35. > :04:50.The details are revealed in some of the 620 state documents
:04:51. > :04:54.The main thing was how to deal with the dreadful cycle
:04:55. > :05:00.It was one of the bloodiest times in the conflict.
:05:01. > :05:04.The letter was written to the Foreign Secretary.
:05:05. > :05:06.He said that he would not advocate a British withdrawal
:05:07. > :05:12.from Northern Ireland because he was afraid of civil war.
:05:13. > :05:16.But eventually, the British are going to find
:05:17. > :05:23.Sir Alan speculated about Peter Robinson becoming
:05:24. > :05:29.the head of an Ulster government.
:05:30. > :05:43.He was the first person to mention Peter Robinson in any context.
:05:44. > :05:46.Another document considered the government reaction to the success
:05:47. > :05:49.of Sinn Fein in the elections. The Northern Ireland Office policy
:05:50. > :05:51.was to bolster the SDLP. These files paint a picture
:05:52. > :05:54.of a bleak and violent time. Within a few years, the peace
:05:55. > :05:56.process was underway. The documents provide a valuable
:05:57. > :05:58.insight into the thinking It also provides a few untold
:05:59. > :06:02.stories, such as Moscow And just time for the
:06:03. > :06:10.Ice hockey results. This evening the Belfast Giants beat
:06:11. > :06:13.the Dundee Stars 5-2 at the SSE They are now second
:06:14. > :06:16.in the Elite league table. The weather latest now,
:06:17. > :06:30.with Geoff Maskell: Hello, good evening. It is a chilly
:06:31. > :06:34.night. After all the disruption of Storm Frank classmate, it is
:06:35. > :06:40.certainly calmer. It will stay dry from most until the small hours. It
:06:41. > :06:44.makes things difficult for the roads service because temperatures will
:06:45. > :06:48.drop away close to freezing. The chance of a few icy patches on the
:06:49. > :06:53.roads tomorrow morning so take extra care if you are out and about
:06:54. > :07:00.earlier. Tomorrow will be a cold day. We will sea wintry showers. A
:07:01. > :07:05.dry slot of weather around Breakfast time, behind that the rain works its
:07:06. > :07:11.way in. Through the D the showers will fall asleep and is now on high
:07:12. > :07:17.ground. Across the UK and Ireland, there is a marked difference in
:07:18. > :07:20.temperatures. We will have highs of 56 degrees, ahead of the front, in
:07:21. > :07:26.the south-east there are temperatures reached double figures.
:07:27. > :07:30.Behind it is cooler era and secluded snowfall across the North and
:07:31. > :07:36.Scotland. So showers continue to work their way in from the West
:07:37. > :07:40.across Ireland. Temperatures drop away towards midnight, down to
:07:41. > :07:44.freezing in many places so it will be a chilly New Year's Eve. New
:07:45. > :07:52.Year's Day will feel like a January morning. Before Green Alliance
:07:53. > :07:59.later. -- before the -- region arrives later. Skies will start to
:08:00. > :08:03.cloud over Andy Moore move in from the south. Plenty of unsettled
:08:04. > :08:06.weather heading in our direction towards the weekend. Low-pressure
:08:07. > :08:13.pressure systems working their way in from the Atlantic. With these
:08:14. > :08:17.comes colder where coming from the north and carrying less water. The
:08:18. > :08:23.rain will continue to come down over the next few days. It should not
:08:24. > :08:25.rain in the quantities we have seen over the next few days.
:08:26. > :08:30.Our next BBC Newsline is at 6.25 in the morning during Breakfast
:08:31. > :08:32.You can also keep updated with News Online.