WPRO News
Thousands of Rhode Island residents are still without power after Tuesday’s surprise thunderstorm knocked down trees, power lines, and even a FedEx truck around 6:00a.m.
Rhode Island Emergency Management Director Peter Gaynor said crews were out in force Tuesday night, trying to clear away debris and restore power. He told Rhode Islanders to be cautious when cleaning up and to look out for downed wires.
“It’s going to take a while to pick your way through it, especially with downed lines entangled in branches and in trees; you really have to be safe about it and one of our messages today is assume that every wire you see down on the ground is live,” said Gaynor.
Later on, National Grid representative Mary-Leah Assad told WPRO the bulk of power will be restored sometime on Wednesday, but some customers may not be getting their power back until Thursday.
“We have upward of 300 crews on the ground today focused like a laser on getting people restored,” said Asssad.
Assad also said crews from surrounding states are joining in the effort to restore power damage which is extensive and “widespread.”
42,000 customers were still without power Wednesday morning. At its peak, power outages affect over 118,000 people following the storm.
Track the progress of power restoration by look at our National Grid tool below:
