METAIRIE, La. — Pockets of home in the metro area remained without power into the third day straight on Monday afternoon, and according to Entergy Louisiana, it could be some time before all electricity is restored.
Tens of thousands of Entergy customers lost power when Tropical Storm Olga blew through the area early Saturday morning. At the peak of the storm, wind gusts of up to 70 mph knocked out electricity for 92,000 buildings across the state.
By Monday afternoon, 88,000 of those customers had their power restored, but crews were still working in places like the Elmwood Park subdivision in Metairie, where about 200 homes remained without power until around 5 p.m.
Crews there spent the afternoon clearing a large fallen tree behind a house on Senac Drive. The tree was one of many that got tangled up in power lines as it fell, causing the outage for the subdivision.
Neighbors in the area like Megan Kreuer said being without power for going- on-three-days had been inconvenient, to say the least.
“I'm very thankful that we didn't have a tree or anything hit our home. It could have been a lot worse,” Kreuer said.
Hundreds of neighbors near Lafreniere Park – and near the old Colonial Country Club in Harahan – also spent the day waiting for Entergy to restore their power.
“The tree fell down on the next street. So, we don't have power right now. We don't have food, nothing right now,” said Joseph Melendez of Metairie.
“It's been tough. We haven't been able to plan anything because they keep telling us: it's going to be day, after day, after day,” said Dana Doucet of Harahan.
Entergy vice president David Johnson admitted the speed of the winds surprised the utility.
“Some of the damage was a little more extensive than we anticipated,” Johnson said.
Johnson said crews had to go in neighbors’ backyards to remove downed trees, wires, fencing and other objects downed by high winds. The utility brought in 1,000 extra workers to help in the repair efforts.
“We know that now that we're into the second and a half day working on this job, that it can be quite tedious for our customers to be without power. Our guys are working hard. They're working around the clock,” Johnson said.
The latest estimate from Entergy stated most customers could expect to get their electricity back by 10 p.m. Monday.
“I appreciate them being out here today. This is a beautiful site to see with all these trucks,” Kreuer said.
In the meantime, many questioned whether Olga would qualify for a named storm deductible for homes that were damaged, because technically it did not hit the area as a tropical storm.
It depends on how individual home-owners policy is written. Insurance companies were in the process of sorting out the details Monday, so it’s recommended to call your agent if you have any questions.
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