Alabama Power crews were out in full force Tuesday following perhaps the most devastating storm in the company’s history. Hurricane Katrina caused extensive damage to infrastructure and could result in extended outages across the state.
As of 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, 355,723 customers were without power statewide, down from a peak of 636,891.
Katrina is the second-worst storm in Alabama Power history in terms of outages. Initial assessments indicate that the storm caused more damage to the Alabama Power system than Hurricane Ivan, which left more than 825,000 customers without power in September 2004.
Restoration of power following Ivan took eight days. In comparison, restoration efforts following Hurricane Frederic, which left 239,400 customers without power in 1979, took 21 days.
Although crews have quickly restored power to nearly 45 percent of customers who lost power during Katrina, company officials warn that remaining outages may take longer to restore.
Alabama Power currently has about 4,000 people in the field. Crews will continue to work until the restoration is complete.
The company has commitments from outside utilities as far away as New York and Ohio to support our restoration efforts. However, resources are limited and are also needed in hard hit areas in Mississippi, Louisiana and Florida, which could potentially extend outages here.
As of 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, 355,723 customers were without power statewide, down from a peak of 636,891.
Katrina is the second-worst storm in Alabama Power history in terms of outages. Initial assessments indicate that the storm caused more damage to the Alabama Power system than Hurricane Ivan, which left more than 825,000 customers without power in September 2004.
Restoration of power following Ivan took eight days. In comparison, restoration efforts following Hurricane Frederic, which left 239,400 customers without power in 1979, took 21 days.
Although crews have quickly restored power to nearly 45 percent of customers who lost power during Katrina, company officials warn that remaining outages may take longer to restore.
Alabama Power currently has about 4,000 people in the field. Crews will continue to work until the restoration is complete.
The company has commitments from outside utilities as far away as New York and Ohio to support our restoration efforts. However, resources are limited and are also needed in hard hit areas in Mississippi, Louisiana and Florida, which could potentially extend outages here.
on August 30, 2005, 8:50 pm
I was stunned, to say the least, at just how accurate your forecast for northwest Alabama was. You predicted the bad weather to begin at 3:00 p.m. It began here at 3:10 p.m. You said to expect widespread power outages, widespread trees down, heavy winds, roof damage. It was almost like you could see into the future and look around my neighborhood!
We just regained power 2 hours ago, after being without power for 18 hours. There are trees down everywhere, branches, transformers, power lines, and cable lines EVERYWHERE on the county road that I live on. I saw roofs peeled back and shifted over. I saw a metal outbuilding that had blown across and sideways in a parking lot. There was a tree on a house 2 houses down from us. There was a massive pine tree blocking the road next to the elementary school. Cable lines were draped low over the road.
I have never witnessed winds like those that I heard around midnight last night. They were horrifying! I can't imagine what it must have been like for those nearer the coast.
I appreciate what you do. We were in quite a pickle after the power went off, being that the only tv station we could pick up on radio was Fox 6. Let's just say that the "other weatherman" there is not as knowledgeable or as descriptive as you are! (It's a little hard to picture exactly where the strongest feeder bands are when you're listening to the radio and they are described as being "oh, about here" and "right about there." )
Thank you for your dedication to the safety of your viewers. God bless you!
Reply to this comment
on August 30, 2005, 9:21 pm
Reply to this comment