If you are still without power at your home or office, you are not alone…especially in the South Bend and Elkhart areas, while parts of Benton Harbor and Buchanan continue to linger in the dark as well.
Indiana Michigan Power officials tell us that as of 10:30 this morning, Monday, June 21st, a contingent of I&M crews and contractors were working as quickly and as safely as possible to restore customers after two rounds of severe storms raced through their service area, pummeling cities and towns with heavy rain, lightning and strong wind gusts.
Crews have restored more than 8,000 customers, and approximately 17,900 remain without power — most of the affected customers are in the South Bend, Elkhart and Southwest Michigan area.
At the peak of the storms early this morning, more than 28,000 customers were without service. High winds caused widespread damage including several downed trees and power lines. A 65 mile-per-hour wind gust was recorded near Lawton, Michigan and a 48 mile-per-hour wind gust was recorded in South Bend, Indiana.
Restoration crews are dealing with windy conditions near Lake Michigan, including 45 mile-per-hour wind gusts, which could cause additional outages.
I&M crews and contractors are responding to safety hazards such as downed power lines, working to restore main substation circuits and assessing damages. I&M crews from Fort Wayne and Muncie are enroute to South Bend, Elkhart and Southwest Michigan to help restore power, and more than 100 additional mutual assistance personnel and contractors are answering the call for help.
I&M understands a power outage is inconvenient for customers and communities and they appreciate their patience as crews work safely to restore power. The crews will continue to provide updates with outage information and restoration estimates as work continues.
I&M expects to have initial estimated restoration times established early this afternoon.
SAFETY INFO
Please pay attention to several safety precautions:
- Downed power lines. Stay away from any downed wires and report them to I&M. You can contact I&M by calling 1-800-311-4634, report on our app or website, or call 911.
- Be careful around debris and fences. Fallen limbs and other debris can hide downed power lines, and a downed line may be contacting a fence out of line of sight. Look around carefully.
- Trees could fall or drop limbs at any moment, please look up.
- Safety is the top priority for I&M employees and customers with an increased focused on hydration due to the heat.
- Traffic lights may not be functioning. Please use caution and be mindful of first responders and utility workers on the roadways.
- I&M employees and contractors will be working alongside the road and in neighborhoods. The company urges the public not to approach crews.
OUTAGE NUMBERS (as of 10:30 a.m.):
INDIANA: Approximately 9,900
- South Bend Area: 3,450
- Elkhart Area: 5,950
- Fort Wayne Area: 450
MICHIGAN: Approximately 9,500
- Benton Harbor Area: 2,400
- Buchanan Area: 3,800
- Three Rivers Area: 3,300
STAY INFORMED
I&M encourages customers to use the Indiana Michigan Power app to monitor the status of any outage affecting your home or business. http://IndianaMichiganPower.com/App
You can sign up for text and email alerts on the app or at http://IndianaMichiganPower.com/Alerts
See the location and status of outages using the outage map at http://IndianaMichiganPower.com/OutageMap For the latest updates please follow Indiana Michigan Power on Facebook and find them on Twitter @IN_MI_Power.
