Emergency declared, power still out for more than a thousand
Columbia Water and Light Wednesday night confirmed that residents in the dark could still be without power until Thursday night.
About 1,300 were still without power Wednesday afternoon.
Restoration work has been slow due to the large amount of debris, damage, and access issues.
The Spring Valley, Lynwood and Brandon Road areas were some of the most difficult to repair due to the electric lines being located in the backyards.
Columbia city manager Mike Matthes declared an emergency Wednesday in the aftermath on Monday night’s storms.
The last time an emergency was declared in Columbia was in 1981, when storms did damage in the same neighborhood.
The executive order formally allows power crews from other cities to assist Columbia crews in restoring power. Linemen from several cities around the state have been in Columbia since yesterday.
The order also authorizes 16-hour work days for linemen. About 200 people were working to fix the remaining outages and more than 3,000 city residents were without power at 11:30 Wednesday morning. City officials did not have word when power would be restored.
A line of severe thunderstorms pushed through most of Mid-Missouri by early Tuesday, leaving thousands of power outages and storm damage in its wake.
Tuesday night Boone County crews closed Fairview Rd. between Ash St. and and Broadway to work on fallen power lines. The road will remain closed until further notice. Officials say it may reopen late Wednesday.
In Columbia alone, power lines were downed all across the city, with large trees blocking roads and transformer fires.
Some of the damage reports gathered by the National Weather Service and the ABC 17 Stormtrack weather team are listed below:
After 10:30 PM Monday night:
STORM REPORT: Large tree downed in Moberly due to damaging winds.
STORM REPORT: 70 MPH wind gust reported in Sweet Springs (Saline Co.) along I-70, Power line down in Marshall (Saline Co.)
STORM REPORT: 60 MPH gusts reported in various places, loss of power, and 2 power poles on fire in Sedalia due to winds.
11:30 PM – 12:00 AM:
STORM REPORT: 60MPH wind gust reported at Univ. of MO south farm at 11:28 PM.
STORM REPORT: Power lines down at intersection of Hwy 5 and W Davis in Fayette.
Facebook reports- power lines, branches down & power out in Fayette
After Midnight Tuesday morning:
STORM REPORT: Utility Poles downed at W. Broadway Walmart in Columbia
STORM REPORT: Trees downed in Versailles & Eldon
STORM REPORT: tree blown down at Sunrise Beach (Camden Co.); roof lifted from a building in Vandalia (Audrain Co.)
STORM REPORT: Power lines downed in Meta, tree blown into home in Bonnots Mill
