hurricane francine – Memphis Flyer

MEMernet: MF’in Podcast, Weird Elon, and Propers

Memphis on the internet.

MF’in Podcast

We have a video podcast! Wait. Does that make it just a talk show? Either way, we’ve been working on a new weekly … thing. It’s not polished up yet but head over to our YouTube channel for an early look.

Weird Elon

Memphis businessman Elon Musk tweeted something just so weird last week, earning him millions of ughs and boos from every corner of the internet.

Underground, indie singer/songwriter Taylor Swift endorsed Kamala Harris for president with a picture of her cat (iykyk). This prompted Memphis businessman Elon Musk to tweet, “Fine Taylor … you win … I will give you a child and guard your cats with my life.”

Propers

Reddit user AlfofMelmac gave propers where they were due last week with a post titled, “Good job, MLGW!” The remnants of Hurricane Francine blustered through Memphis last week and the Redditor was “pleasantly surprised to see that there weren’t a whole lot of lights out on my commute, and not a ton of outages compared to prior big storms!”

Hurricane Francine has impacted more than 34,000 Memphis Light, Gas and Water (MLGW) customers while also causing record-breaking rainfall of 4.25 inches.

The storm brought in winds up to 57 mph and according to MLGW this caused a number of downed limbs and trees and outages. As a result, the utility company has more than 50 crews working around the clock to clear debris and work on storm restoration.

MLGW president and CEO Doug McGowen said they are prioritizing the largest outages and customers who have been without service the longest.

“We are asking everyone for their patience as we take care of the damage that came from the storm and prepare for what is ahead,” McGowen said.

Work such as replacing power poles can take an average of eight hours. During this time crews are working to close roads, direct traffic, and coordinate with law enforcement agencies. MLGW said underground outages can take longer than overhead outages.

Some of the areas that MLGW prioritizes include hospitals, facilities with large community impact, and areas with large members of customers without power.

Customers are urged to report outages on the MLGW app or by calling 544-6500.

MLGW also asks that customers stay away from downed power lines and to not attempt to remove fallen tree limbs or debris. Customers should also report these to MLGW.