A utility company is working to clear a downed power pole Monday on Travis Road.
UPDATE 4:30 P.M.
Duke Energy is working to restore power to thousands of customers in Indiana following the severe and damaging storms that ripped through Indiana Thursday. As of 3:30 p.m. Friday afternoon, crews have restored power for nearly 130,000 customers. More than 82,000 customers remain out of service. The potential for more severe weather through the weekend could hamper restoration efforts.
Since Thursday evening, power line technicians and other Duke Energy workers from the Carolinas, Ohio, Kentucky and Florida have been assessing damage and restoring outages. Wind gusts reached as high as 90 miles per hour in some areas, taking down trees, power lines and poles. The storm caused more than 200,000 power outages across nearly all of the 28 districts Duke Energy serves in Indiana.
The company has brought in more than 1,000 additional crew members to supplement its statewide workforce. Duke Energy is moving crews to respond to the hardest hit areas in and around the Western and South-Central parts of the state, including Clay, Monroe, Putnam, Vermillion and Vigo counties.
Estimated restoration times – once determined for specific areas – will be posted at duke-energy.com/outages/current-outages later this evening, and customers who are registered to receive Duke Energy text outage alerts will receive a text once an estimated restoration time is established for their location.
ORIGINAL STORY
Thousands remain without power across the state in the aftermath of a fast-moving, severely damaging line of thunderstorms.
A derecho, an intense line of destructive thunderstorms, brought hurricane-force winds to Central Indiana on Thursday. At Indianapolis International Airport, winds gusted up to 70 mph as the storms moved through the area, according to the National Weather Service.
In Johnson County, many residents reported downed trees, branches and power lines from high winds. Many were left without power on Thursday.
Power outages continue
JCREMC is reporting only one outage on Friday morning, which is at a vacant building in the White River North District. Power has been restored following 4,026 outages that were reported at 4:45 p.m. Thursday.
However, Duke Energy is still reporting large numbers of outages across the state, including some areas of Johnson County.
Approximately 94,200 Duke Energy customers remain out of service in Indiana as of 7 a.m — down from a peak of 202,000. The utility has restored power to more than 108,000 customers, according to a Duke Energy news release.
Locally, about 1,505 outages are being reported in Johnson County as of 12:50 p.m. — mostly in the Franklin, Greenwood and New Whiteland areas. Outages are also being reported in the Center Grove area, along with small areas of Edinburgh and Nineveh, according to the utility’s outage map.
The map and utility officials don’t have an estimated timeframe for power to come back on, as damages are still being assessed.
Duke Energy officials say Thursday’s storms caused outages in nearly all 28 districts the utility serves in Indiana, particularly in western and south-central Indiana. Work crews have been making repairs while assessments are still underway to determine the full scope of damage, the utility said.
So far, Duke Energy has seen large numbers of broken poles, trees in power lines and spans of wire down. There was also damage to the utility’s electric transmission system, which includes power lines and structures that are the utility’s major carriers of power, said, Stan Pinegar, president of Duke Energy Indiana.
Personnel from the utility’s operations in Ohio and Kentucky, along with North and South Carolina, are being brought in to help restore service. Contractors who regularly assist them after storms are also responding, the news release says.
The utility is also keeping an eye on future weather because there’s a potential for more storms that could hamper restoration efforts.
Duke Energy officials say they will provide power restoration time estimates once there is more information from damage assessments. Extended outages are possible in the hardest-hit areas, however.
During the power restoration process, the utility’s priority is to repair large power lines and other infrastructure that will return power to the greatest number of customers “as safely, quickly and efficiently as possible.” Crews can then work on repairs affecting individual neighborhoods and homes, the news release says.
More storms possible
Strong to severe storms are possible throughout the weekend as the Fourth of July holiday approaches.
Severe storms were possible on Friday, and meteorologists from the National Weather Service have Johnson County under a slight risk for severe weather. The threat for severe storms is primarily between 5 to 10 p.m., meteorologists at the National Weather Service in Indianapolis said.
Damaging winds with gusts of 60 to 70 mph are the primary threat, but all hazards were possible. Other hazards possible include large hail, flooding and isolated tornadoes, meteorologists say.
On Saturday, most of Johnson County is under a slight risk for severe weather — but there were some areas of far southwestern Johnson County under an enhanced risk. The forecast is subject is change as conditions develop.
Severe storms could take place on Saturday afternoon into the evening, with damaging winds being the primary threat. However, meteorologists say all hazards are possible.
More severe storms were also possible on Sunday afternoon and evening, and like Saturday, damaging winds are the primary threat. All weather hazards are possible, the NWS says.
The county is under a slight risk for severe weather on Sunday as well.
