Nearly 14% of City Water, Light & Power customers remain without electricity Monday as the city remains under a state of emergency due to last week's storms.
As of 12:50 p.m. Monday, CWLP said that 9,500 customers were without power, higher than comparable totals Sunday when only 7,867 customers were still in the dark. The agency has been asking customers to self-report outages since 6 p.m. Sunday, which has contributed to the increase in reported power loss as a result of the storm.
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CWLP spokesperson Amber Sabin said that the goal of the self-reporting was to pick up any spots missed during the initial reporting stage. She said that the response was overwhelming enough that there were cases of over-reporting of outages as a result.
"I think we're good right now (on reporting)," Sabin said. "Our outage counts might be a touch high right now because people are calling in multiple times. Some outages might be double-counted. We don't need the full-court press on that."
More than 40,000 customers were without power at the storm's peak last Thursday, which brought down hundreds of power lines and power poles while also damaging transformers and other electrical equipment. CWLP workers have been doing 16-hour shifts in order to restore power to their customers, with mutual aid workers coming from as far as New Jersey to assist them.
Sabin said that the city is now in the second phase of power recovery, focused on fixing lateral lines and individual outages.
The state of emergency imposed by Mayor Misty Buscher in response to the storm was extended Sunday night through the end of Wednesday's City Council meeting. The continued lack of power in many areas of the city was the primary reason for the extension of the order, which allows Buscher to take expedited action to deal with the storm without the approval of the Council.
Buscher said in a statement that she was hopeful for the city to come out stronger on the other end following the recovery from the storm.
"Ensuring we have every opportunity possible to help us protect the health and safety of our communityis paramount," Buscher said. "With our City Council and the many agency partners assisting, locallabor and more, I look forward to a stronger Springfield when we come out of all the damage caused bythe devastating storm."
While the National Weather Service didn't confirm a tornado had touched down in Sangamon County in the immediate aftermath of the storm, it did confirm Saturday that five tornadoes had touched down during the storm, including one that passed through Chatham at 12:12 p.m. Thursday with winds reaching as high as 120 mph.
Two tornadoes touched down in Christian County later in the day – one near Sharpsburg at 12:26 p.m. and another near Taylorville at 12:38 p.m. Another tornado hit Logan County north of Lincoln at 12:26 p.m., which blocked off portions of Interstate 55 due to downed power lines near mile marker 133.
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NWS received several reports of storm damage in Springfield as the system moved through, with some being connected to that of a tornado, but no tornado was reported to touch down in the city proper as of Monday.
The city is planning a 3 p.m. press conference to provide further updates on storm recovery.
Help in Chatham
The village has a small dumpster located in Community Park near the parking lot by diamond #3, near the Dewberry Trail entrance to the park. If you are without power and have spoiled food that needs to be disposed of and do not anticipate your normal garbage disposal to arrive for Monday service, this dumpster is available for you.
The Chatham Area Public Library, 600 E. Spruce St., will be open their normal operating hours Monday (from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and will also Wi-Fi. They welcome all and their children with space to socialize, play and read for all ages.
Illinois Baptist Disaster Relief Team
The Illinois Baptist Disaster Relief Team is offering disaster relief services to residents of Springfield and central Illinois following Thursday's storm.
The team will primarily help clear areas on private property. They will prioritize their work based on hazards, elderly, inability to move vehicles, etc.
The team will arrive at Chatham Baptist Church, 1500 E. Walnut St., on Wednesday to start assessing the area. The saw teams will arrive on Thursday to begin work.
Anyone who has a need should email IBDRdirector@gmail.com and include a name, address, phone number and a brief description of help needed.
State Journal-Register reporter Steven Spearie contributed to this story.
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