COLUMBUS, Ind. – UPDATE (2:30 p.m.): Duke Energy has restored power to 43,000 from the powerful winds that moved through Indiana this weekend. Two waves of storms beginning Saturday broke numerous utility poles and brought down power lines, causing power outages for more than 57,000 customers,
To speed power restoration for the approximately 14,000 that remained out of service as of 11 a.m. today, Duke Energy moved employees and contractors from its Ohio and Northern Indiana service area to supplement local crews in Southern Indiana.
The areas most impacted include Bartholomew, Shelby, Monroe, Morgan, Crawford, Brown and Decatur counties.
Power is expected to be restored to most customers by midnight, but in the hardest-hit areas around Columbus, restoration may continue into Monday.
Currently, Duke Energy has restoration for the Columbus area set for 12 p.m. tomorrow.
Duke Energy will provide estimated power restoration times for specific counties – once those estimates have been determined – at duke-energy.com/outages/
UPDATE (8:30 a.m.): Chip Orben of Duke Energy says that about 6,600 homes in Bartholomew County remain with no power on Sunday, at 8:30 a.m., due to thunderstorms that blasted the county on Saturday. At its peak, the number of residences with power outages was 23,000. Most of the interrupted power was because of the broken transmission pole near Applebee’s at the corner of 25th Street and Central Avenue.
Bartholomew County Emergency Management reported at 9:45 p.m. on Saturday that several roads were closed due to power lines down, trees down, or debris. See a complete list of closed roads here.
Original: Severe thunderstorms rocked Columbus and the area on Saturday, leaving thousands without power.
At 3:53 p.m., a severe thunderstorm was located near Columbus, moving northeast at 60 mph. The storm broke power lines and littered the area with debris.
Lt. Matt Harris of the Columbus Police Department (CPD) said officers were directing traffic where necessary due to the power outages. CPD and the Columbus Fire Department (CFD) responded to several weather-related calls, including crashes, downed trees on homes, and structure fires.
Originally 15,000 residences were without power in Bartholomew County alone, according to Duke Energy’s Chip Orben. As of 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, that number was down to 11,000. Duke Energy does not have an estimated repair time for power to be back up for everyone. Customers are asked to call 1-800-343-3525 to report an outage. They can view outages at www.duke-energy.com/outages.
CFD public information officer Mike Wilson reminds residents to avoid any downed power lines, as they could still remain charged and cause electrocution.
