Page 7 - Florida Sentinel 10-16-18

After Hurricane Michael
Around 350,000 Customers Still Without
Power, Crews Working Around-The-Clock
RICHMOND, Va. -- Domin- ion Energy said it is working around the clock and through- out the weekend to restore serv- ice to customers who lost power in the wake of Tropical Storm Michael.
As of 3 p.m. Friday, more than 250,000 of the approxi- mately 600,000 customers im- pacted have had service restored.
"We’ve dedicated more than 6,000 people to this restoration
effort, including mutual aid crews from other states that are here to assist us,” said Ed Baine, senior vice president – Electric Distribution. “Our focus will be to reach and re- store all customers as soon as quickly and safely as possible. While some regions have had catastrophic damage that will hamper repairs, we expect to have the vast majority of cus- tomers restored by the end of the day Monday."
Thousands Missing In Wake Of Hurricane Michael As Death Toll Continues To Climb
The grim toll of Hurricane Michael swelled to 17 dead, as thousands of people remained missing in the wake of the giant storm that carved a swath of devastation through four Southern states.
More than 300,000 Florida residents re- mained without power and cell service was still out in many areas Saturday, making the search for the missing more difficult. In Virginia, flash flooding prompted a series of water rescues.
Meanwhile, in Florida, rescue workers contin- ued to battle their way through areas of the pan- handle most devastated by the storm. State officials said they had received thousands of calls from people asking about loved ones.
Authorities estimated nearly 300 people re- mained behind in the town of Mexico Beach de- spite mandatory evacuations orders. It’s unclear how many managed to escape last minute or suc- cessfully rode out the storm.
Miami Fire Chief Joseph Zahralban, leader of a search-and-rescue unit, said a search party found a body among the rubble in Mexico Beach, a municipality of just more than a thousand al- most completely leveled by the brutal storm. He predicted the death toll will rise.
"We have one confirmed deceased and are working to determine if there are others," Zahral- ban told the Associated Press.
Eight deaths in Florida, three in North Car- olina, one in Georgia and five in Virginia were at- tributed to the storm.
Hurricane Michael made landfall Wednesday as a powerful Category 4 storm. Its 155-mile-per-
Devastation left behind when Hurricane Michael hit Mexico Beach, Fla., last week.
hour winds made it one the most powerful storms in U.S. history. Entire blocks of beach homes were inundated with storm surge or obliterated by re- lentless winds. The storm ripped facades from buildings, felled trees and down power lines along the coast and as much as 60 miles inland in Florida. Roads crumbled away or became impass- able from debris. Tyndall Air Force Base lost all its building to destruction or severe damage.
“We still haven’t gotten to the hardest hit areas,” said Federal Emergency Management Agency chief Brock Long. “Very few people live to tell what it’s like to experience storm surge, and unfortunately in this country, we have seem to not learn the lesson.”
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2018 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 7