1.6 million US customers still without power after Hurricane Helene
Hurricane Helene has left more than 1.6 million Americans in the southeastern region of the country without power. The storm which hit the Florida Panhandle last week brought a lot of losses, many power companies are still working to restore the power, while in the areas that were most affected great efforts will be needed to rebuild.
The affected areas include: The Carolinas, Georgia, Florida, Several Midwestern states.
Though power companies in the country continue efforts to restore power to nearly 500,000 consumers as of early Monday, the problem persists with several people and commercial entities.
Duke Energy being the first to report in the recovery process.
- Duke Energy, the primary power provider in the Carolinas, reports significant outages:
- Out of the empowered customers, 415 601 are from South Carolina.
- Out of the mentioned usares, 287;369 customers in North Carolina have been affected.
Jason Hollifield, Duke’s storm director for the Carolinas, emphasized the extensive damage: ”However, there are many areas in the South Carolina Upstate and in the North Carolina mountains where we will need to build from scratch a major portion of our system.”
But the company has managed to restore electricity to over 1.1 million clients who have service only in the Carolinas. Most customers should be back online by Friday, though some may not have their service restored until the systems have to be rebuilt from scratch.
Unfortunately, the death toll has risen to over one hundred state and local officials reports due to Hurricane Helene. The cyclone is violent due to winds, torrential rains, and storm surges thus it is ranked amongst some of the most deadly storms in the United States.
As recovery efforts continue, residents are advised to:
1. Do not approach or touch any downed power line.
2. Local authorities must be followed
3. Visit isolated neighbors when you can
