Craiova Breaking News

Submitted by KC Kelly Ph.D. on 2010-07-26

Heavy storms in Washington D.C. and Montgomery and Prince George’s counties in Maryland left over 240,000 customers without power in their homes and offices when Pepco, Regional Utility had a massive outage. Power lines and trees fell during the storms and there were two fatalities reported. The area is now left with massive damage as workers are attempting to restore power to the area.

Authorities cannot yet say when power will be restored, but they have been working on it all day, according to Pepco spokesman, Clay Anderson, as there was far more damage than just downed power lines. Many transformers were damaged and electric poles actually broken said Anderson.

The two fatalities were of a forty year old woman and a six year old boy who didn't make it in the storms. Why these two people were outside during these storms is unknown. The boy was said to be outside walking with his family when a large part of a tree fell on him. Another woman in her sixties was injured when a tree fell on top of her.

Evacuations had to take place in three dozen apartment buildings due to damage and power outages. Streets are a mess because of downed wires and although the storm has passed, the wrath of it stays in these areas.

The storm caused major traffic issues today. Many traffic lights are out and drivers are being reminded to treat any intersections with flashing lights as four-way stops to avoid collisions.

Beginning at 1pm, Montgomery County Executivem, Isiah Leggett and Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley are scheduled to survey storm damage and discuss plans for cleaning up the area. District Department of Transportation spokesman John Lisle says that, "DDOT has deployed traffic control officers and crossing guards to as many intersections as we can. DDOT has also sent generators and portable stop signs to others. The District is still dealing with about 50 intersections that do not have power."

Transit services, such as Metrobus, Montgomery's Ride On, the Fairfax Connector and the Circulator will be interrupted by the power outages and will affect traffic signals around the region. The District Department of Transportation says there are 52 intersections in the District affected by power outages.