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Southeast Missouri Recovers From Severe Weekend Weather, Ameren Electric Update

Rodney Bollinger/City of Jackson
Jackson city crews work to clear debris following a severe Friday thunderstorm.

Updated at 2:05 p.m., June 24 with a closure on Sprigg Street in Cape Girardeau

 

Numerous thunderstorms worked their way through southeast Missouri this weekend. As a result of the severe weather, approximately 14,000 Ameren Missouri customers across the state were without power late Friday evening. The majority of these outages were in Cape Girardeau, Scott and Mississippi counties.

As of 9 a.m. on Sunday, June 23, Ameren had restored service to more than 12,500 of these customers.

Cape Girardeau and Jackson city officials have released information on current storm damage and electrical services across both cities. These updates are based on assessments made Sunday morning and Monday morning.

 

City of Cape Girardeau Assessments

As of 10 a.m. on Monday, June 24, Ameren is in the process of rebuilding a line that was damaged by weekend storms near Buzzi Unicem in Cape Girardeau. This has caused a portion of South Sprigg Street to be closed. The utility work should be completed by the end of the day, as weather permits. 

On Friday, the city of Cape Girardeau lost power to several city facilities, including Shawnee Park Center, Cape Girardeau Regional Airport, and Capaha Park. Water services also lost line power, but thanks to a generator backup, residents were not impacted and power was soon restored. The Osage Centre served as a cooling facility over the weekend for residents who were without power. People are currently welcome in any open, public facility - such as City Hall - if needed. 

 

If city residents have yard waste as a result of storm damage, they can request a curbside pickup by contacting Public Works. Limbs and branches must be cut to a maximum 4-foot length and stacked at the curb in an orderly fashion. The city recommends keeping yard waste away from the street, hydrants, and signs. They also say to use caution when using sharp tools to cut limbs and branches.

If you need to schedule a curbside pickup for yard waste, call Cape Girardeau Public Works at 573-339-6351.

City of Jackson Assessments

As of 10 a.m. on Monday, June 24, Jackson city power crews have successfully restored electric service to all of its customers.

 

On Sunday morning, nearly 50 service drops needed to be repaired by property owners before the city could reconnect their line. That number has dropped to nearly two dozen.

 

According to a press release, those needing to repair their service drops should obtain permits from the Public Works Department at City Hall. The city is also temporarily waiving permit fees for electric service line reconnections.

 

For electric service to be connected, both the meter base and the mast head must be in place. All wires must be installed and connected, except for final service hook-up at the mast head.

 

Scheduled circuit interruptions may still occur for residents whose power has already been restored, so that other customers can be safely reconnected to main power lines. These interruptions may cause a temporary loss of power.

 

Electrical contractors and tree trimmers have assisted in restoring services to the city since Friday evening and - due to heavy rain and additional storm fronts - will continue to do so likely into the week. In a press release, the city warned residents and business owners of the dangers in hiring non-reputable contractors who may approach your property to do repair work. If your building has been damaged, you should only deal with licensed, insured, and reputable contractors.

If you live in Jackson and are currently without power, call the Jackson Public Works Department at 573-243-2300 or 573-243-3536 immediately.

 

Ameren Power Updates in Southeast Missouri

Power restoration began Friday afternoon, and Ameren crews were able to restore service to nearly half of their affected customers in southeast Missouri. On Sunday, over 200 field and support personnel from Ameren and other regional agencies continued working yesterday to restore services for affected customers.

As of 4 p.m. on Sunday, June 23, assessments indicated that high winds uprooted trees and broken branches, sending debris into power lines. Flooding caused access issues at some utility pole locations, some of which were accessed by boat.

Ameren says fallen trees and debris on private property are the responsibility of the property owner.

Ameren recommends staying away from downed power lines. If you see a downed power line, you can report it to Ameren by calling 1-800-552-7583. The latest outage information can be found at www.outagemap.ameren.com.