City of Memphis
Public Works crew clearing tree in Frayser
After the third largest power outage in Shelby County history, with 188,000 homes without power at its peak, Memphis Light, Gas, and Water (MLGW) continues to work to restore power in the city.
Some 124,000 homes have regained power in the less than 72 hours since Saturday night’s storm and straight line winds came through town.
MLGW, along with an additional 70 outside crews from East Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, and North Carolina, are working around the clock to restore power to some 60,000 homes that remain without electricity.
Because of the severity of the storm, the utility expects full restoration to take up to a week.
Their tweet below explains why repairs can be complex and may take longer in some instances.
This is why we cannot simply come to your home and restore power. pic.twitter.com/NcyQrl34IX
— MLGW (@MLGW) May 30, 2017
City Continues Working to Repair Storm Damage
As for the debris left by the storm, about 90 trees have been cleared as of this morning, and 20 crews will be out today to tackle remaining trees.
Memphis mayor, Jim Strickland, says this morning he met with the City of Memphis’ Public Works leadership to discuss the next steps in clearing debris and right now the focus is on clearing streets of debris, as well as clearing garbage bins to avoid public health hazards due to rotting food.
Additionally, the city and county are working together to determine if the damages that the city sustained qualify for federal emergency assistance, in which under federal law, there must be $9.8 million worth of public damage.
If this federal assistance is received, the city will be reimbursed for about 80 percent of the restoration cost.
However, he explains that for individuals to receive assistance, at least 100 uninsured homes in the city must be “dramatically” damaged.
Mayor Strickland says because of this, the City needs the public’s help and advises anyone whose home has been severely damaged to let the city know.
In terms of long-term storm recovery, after all power is restored, health hazards have been removed, and streets have been cleared, the mayor says his team will have to figure out how to clean the city of remaining debris.
Mayor Strickland has plans to meet with the City Council budget committee today to determine how further restoration efforts will be funded.
