A MAJOR incident has been declared across County Durham in response to widespread power cuts caused by Storm Arwen at the weekend.

Thousands of people have been left without power in communities across the region and authorities have now provided additional support to those affected. The response to the crisis is being organised by the Strategic Coordination Group for County Durham and Darlington.

It involves teams from Durham County Council, Durham Constabulary, Northumbrian Water and County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust and County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service.

Northern Powergrid has teams of engineers working around the clock to restore power to 13,000 properties without an electricity supply.

The areas most affected appear to be Teesdale and Weardale as well as a number of communities around Durham City.

To access a fully interactive map of how many areas are affected by postcode click here

More details about the response are expected to be released this afternoon.

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