Severe Thunderstorms Knock Out Power to Thousands in Miami Valley
Colaboradores
Severe thunderstorms that swept through the Miami Valley Wednesday evening have left thousands without power and reports of damage are widespread. As of Thursday afternoon, just under 11,500 people remained without electricity in the region.
Several counties experienced significant outages. At 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Butler, Darke, Preble, and Warren counties each had over 1,000 customers without power, according to outage maps from AES Ohio and Duke Energy. Montgomery County was the hardest hit, with over 15,000 customers without power around the same time. The situation worsened, reaching over 21,000 customers without power in Montgomery County and over 15,000 in Greene County by 8:05 p.m.
AES Ohio reported a peak of 66,000 customers without power during the storm's height. Crews have been working around the clock to restore power. "Crews continue to work round the clock to safely and quickly restore power to the remaining 11,500 customers," AES Ohio stated Thursday morning, thanking customers for their patience.
Here's a breakdown of power outages by county as of 1:05 p.m. Thursday, according to Duke, AES, and Ohio Edison outage maps:
- Montgomery: 4,922
Reports of storm damage quickly followed the severe weather. Numerous downed trees, ranging from small limbs to entire large trees, have been reported throughout the area. Butler Township police reported that Dog Leg Road was closed between Kinmont Road and Interstate 70 due to downed power lines and tree limbs on Thursday morning.
The National Weather Service in Wilmington received a report of a large tree falling on a house in New Lebanon around 6:57 p.m. A large tree was also reported down near Union, taking down power lines around 7:50 p.m. Downed high-voltage lines led to the closure of I-75 in both directions near Vandalia.
Staying Safe During Power Outages
Remember to treat all downed power lines as live wires. Stay away from them and report them to the authorities immediately. Use flashlights instead of candles to avoid fire hazards. If you are using a generator, ensure it is properly ventilated to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning.