Massive Power Outage In St. Louis -- various articles

Excerpt below from az.central.com:
"St. Louis sweats power outage
Cheryl Wittenauer Associated Press
Jul. 21, 2006 12:00 AM

ST. LOUIS - In less than 24 hours, this city got pummeled by a meteorological tag team: a sudden, unexpectedly rough storm that knocked out power to more than half a million customers, followed by near-triple-digit heat that made them suffer and sweat through the loss.

Before daybreak Thursday, St. Louis residents with flashlights went out in their pajamas to survey streets strewn with tree limbs, ripped off the night before by a storm that unleashed winds more than 80 mph and torrential rains.

More than 30 people were injured - mostly baseball fans at Busch Stadium - and three buildings collapsed.

As the sun rose on the 97-degree day, which felt like 111 thanks to the humidity, they sat on stoops, seeking a breeze, to escape suffocating indoor heat.

Gov. Matt Blunt declared a state of emergency, granting the mayor's request to send in nearly 300 National Guard troops to take people to air-conditioned public buildings and to clear debris.

One person, a 93-year-old woman, was found dead, one of at least 20 deaths around the nation attributed at least in part to a weeklong heat wave.

FULL STORY HERE:
[link|http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0721heatwave0721.html|http://www.azcentral...heatwave0721.html]
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Reprinted below from forbes.com:
Power Outage Sends Guard to St. Louis
By CHERYL WITTENAUER , 07.20.2006, 04:18 PM

The governor sent in the National Guard to evacuate people from their sweltering homes and utility crews raced to restore electricity Thursday after storms knocked out power to nearly half a million St. Louis-area homes and businesses in the middle of a searing heat wave that has killed at least 17 people across the country.

With forecasters expecting another day of 100-degree heat, Gov. Matt Blunt declared a state of emergency and granted the mayor's request to send in 250 troops to transport people from hot homes to cooling centers, and to clear debris.

Police used public-address speakers from their squad cars to announce locations of cooling centers. Volunteers went door to door checking on people without power to run air conditioners. "We can't overemphasize the danger of this heat," Mayor Francis Slay said. "The longer the heat goes on and the power is out, the riskier it is."

FULL STORY HERE:
[link|http://www.forbes.com/entrepreneurs/feeds/ap/2006/07/20/ap2893964.html|http://www.forbes.co...20/ap2893964.html]

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Excerpt below from dailyjournalonline.com:

After one week, some still remain without power
By PAULA BARR\\Daily Journal Staff Writer

One week after a devastating storm struck east central Missouri, approximately 688 Washington County customers remained without power. Ameren hopes to restore power to most of the Washington County homes by tonight.

\ufffdWe've got locations where we basically have to build a road to be able to get poles in to do permanent repairs,\ufffd Cleary said. \ufffdIt's just extremely rugged country in some of those areas, and that's what is taking so long.\ufffd

As of this morning, 102,000 customers still were without power in the storm-affected area, 85,000 of which are in the St. Louis metro area....

For the seventh day, law enforcement, city and county officials and other emergency workers coordinated storm recovery efforts from the command center at Washington County Courthouse.

National Guards units continued to distribute ice and water, and volunteers from local churches cooked and delivered meals from the Southern Baptist Convention Disaster Relief team.

Emergency officials spent this morning on a conference call with officials from the State Emergency Management Agency, St. Louis, St. Louis County, Ameren and other agencies working on storm relief throughout the affected area.

The officials have shared information through conference calls several times a day since the storm hit.

[link|http://www.mydjconnection.com/articles/2006/07/26/community/news6.txt|http://www.mydjconne...mmunity/news6.txt]

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Reprinted below from publicbroadcasting.net:

Power still out for about 50,000 customers; death toll at nine
Maria Hickey, KWMU / AP
\t
ST. LOUIS, MO (2006-07-27) Ameren says just fewer than 50,000 customers in the St. Louis region are without power this morning (Thursday). Of those, more than 8,000 of them are in Jennings, according to Ameren's website.

The utility says just about everyone in St. Louis City has had power restored. Meanwhile, the number of deaths being blamed on the storms and power outage is now nine.

Three men who each lived alone in St. Louis City are among the newest known dead. One of them, a 49-year old man, had power, but his air conditioner was not plugged in. The other two were ages 56 and 78.

A man in East St. Louis also died yesterday after being burned while trying to fix a portable generator.

FULL STORY HERE:
[link|http://publicbroadcasting.net/kwmu/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=947003§ionID=1|http://publicbroadca...47003&sectionID=1]

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All excerpts, etc. reprinted by Nightowl

P.S. As of this morning, my parents still do not have their electric power restored. I also posted about this in the Water Cooler under the heading of Owl In The Dark In St. Louis -- No Longer.
[link|http://z.iwethey.org/forums/render/content/show?contentid=262715|http://z.iwethey.org...?contentid=262715]

Post #262,748 by Nightowl 7/27/06 10:29:47 AM Reply	Massive Power Outage In St. Louis -- various articles Excerpt below from az.central.com: "St. Louis sweats power outage Cheryl Wittenauer Associated Press Jul. 21, 2006 12:00 AM ST. LOUIS - In less than 24 hours, this city got pummeled by a meteorological tag team: a sudden, unexpectedly rough storm that knocked out power to more than half a million customers, followed by near-triple-digit heat that made them suffer and sweat through the loss. Before daybreak Thursday, St. Louis residents with flashlights went out in their pajamas to survey streets strewn with tree limbs, ripped off the night before by a storm that unleashed winds more than 80 mph and torrential rains. More than 30 people were injured - mostly baseball fans at Busch Stadium - and three buildings collapsed. As the sun rose on the 97-degree day, which felt like 111 thanks to the humidity, they sat on stoops, seeking a breeze, to escape suffocating indoor heat. Gov. Matt Blunt declared a state of emergency, granting the mayor's request to send in nearly 300 National Guard troops to take people to air-conditioned public buildings and to clear debris. One person, a 93-year-old woman, was found dead, one of at least 20 deaths around the nation attributed at least in part to a weeklong heat wave. FULL STORY HERE: [link\|http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0721heatwave0721.html\|http://www.azcentral...heatwave0721.html] ************************* Reprinted below from forbes.com: Power Outage Sends Guard to St. Louis By CHERYL WITTENAUER , 07.20.2006, 04:18 PM The governor sent in the National Guard to evacuate people from their sweltering homes and utility crews raced to restore electricity Thursday after storms knocked out power to nearly half a million St. Louis-area homes and businesses in the middle of a searing heat wave that has killed at least 17 people across the country. With forecasters expecting another day of 100-degree heat, Gov. Matt Blunt declared a state of emergency and granted the mayor's request to send in 250 troops to transport people from hot homes to cooling centers, and to clear debris. Police used public-address speakers from their squad cars to announce locations of cooling centers. Volunteers went door to door checking on people without power to run air conditioners. "We can't overemphasize the danger of this heat," Mayor Francis Slay said. "The longer the heat goes on and the power is out, the riskier it is." FULL STORY HERE: [link\|http://www.forbes.com/entrepreneurs/feeds/ap/2006/07/20/ap2893964.html\|http://www.forbes.co...20/ap2893964.html] ************************************* Excerpt below from dailyjournalonline.com: After one week, some still remain without power By PAULA BARR\\Daily Journal Staff Writer One week after a devastating storm struck east central Missouri, approximately 688 Washington County customers remained without power. Ameren hopes to restore power to most of the Washington County homes by tonight. \ufffdWe've got locations where we basically have to build a road to be able to get poles in to do permanent repairs,\ufffd Cleary said. \ufffdIt's just extremely rugged country in some of those areas, and that's what is taking so long.\ufffd As of this morning, 102,000 customers still were without power in the storm-affected area, 85,000 of which are in the St. Louis metro area.... For the seventh day, law enforcement, city and county officials and other emergency workers coordinated storm recovery efforts from the command center at Washington County Courthouse. National Guards units continued to distribute ice and water, and volunteers from local churches cooked and delivered meals from the Southern Baptist Convention Disaster Relief team. Emergency officials spent this morning on a conference call with officials from the State Emergency Management Agency, St. Louis, St. Louis County, Ameren and other agencies working on storm relief throughout the affected area. The officials have shared information through conference calls several times a day since the storm hit. [link\|http://www.mydjconnection.com/articles/2006/07/26/community/news6.txt\|http://www.mydjconne...mmunity/news6.txt] ******************************** Reprinted below from publicbroadcasting.net: Power still out for about 50,000 customers; death toll at nine Maria Hickey, KWMU / AP \t ST. LOUIS, MO (2006-07-27) Ameren says just fewer than 50,000 customers in the St. Louis region are without power this morning (Thursday). Of those, more than 8,000 of them are in Jennings, according to Ameren's website. The utility says just about everyone in St. Louis City has had power restored. Meanwhile, the number of deaths being blamed on the storms and power outage is now nine. Three men who each lived alone in St. Louis City are among the newest known dead. One of them, a 49-year old man, had power, but his air conditioner was not plugged in. The other two were ages 56 and 78. A man in East St. Louis also died yesterday after being burned while trying to fix a portable generator. FULL STORY HERE: [link\|http://publicbroadcasting.net/kwmu/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=947003§ionID=1\|http://publicbroadca...47003&sectionID=1] ************************************** All excerpts, etc. reprinted by Nightowl P.S. As of this morning, my parents still do not have their electric power restored. I also posted about this in the Water Cooler under the heading of Owl In The Dark In St. Louis -- No Longer. [link\|http://z.iwethey.org/forums/render/content/show?contentid=262715\|http://z.iwethey.org...?contentid=262715] "When you take charge of your life, there is no longer need to ask permission of other people or society at large. When you ask permission, you give someone veto power over your life." -- By Geoffrey F. Abert ************************ "Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind, don't matter - and those who matter, don't mind." -- By Dr. Seuss ******************************* "Sometimes it takes a whole lot more strength to walk away than to stand there and fight." -- By the character of John Abbott: said on Young & Restless on 5/19/06 *******************************
Post #262,752 by imqwerky 7/27/06 10:49:39 AM Reply	Sorry to hear things were so rough, Owl Glad you have power again. Smile, Amy [link\|http://kevan.org/brain.cgi?Amy%20Rathman\|Pics of the Family]
Post #262,753 by Nightowl 7/27/06 10:55:13 AM Reply	Thanks, Amy. :) I just pray my mom and dad get their power on today. They are what is considered the "elderly class" although they don't like to admit it, and won't come to my house or my brother's house to stay for fear of leaving their home unguarded during this mess. I've been helping them all I can, because for days it was dangerous even to drive around in town... trees on the road, live wires down, etc. I'm still amazed at myself that I did drive, EVERY DAY, during this crisis. I rode with John to work and kept his car which had A/C and picked him up every evening. It's amazing what you can do when you have to. Brenda "When you take charge of your life, there is no longer need to ask permission of other people or society at large. When you ask permission, you give someone veto power over your life." -- By Geoffrey F. Abert ************************** "Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind, don't matter - and those who matter, don't mind." -- By Dr. Seuss ******************************* "Sometimes it takes a whole lot more strength to walk away than to stand there and fight." -- By the character of John Abbott: said on Young & Restless on 5/19/06 *******************************
Post #262,754 by Andrew Grygus 7/27/06 10:55:26 AM Reply	Oh well, at least you'll be outa there before . . . . . the big one hits. New Madrid isn't scheduled to twitch again for about 300 years (plus or minus 100 or so). Hard rock quakes are really bad compared to the soft rock and rubble quakes we have here in California. [link\|http://www.aaxnet.com\|AAx]

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