Power failure: Thousands without power in NYC and Detroit
In the Big Apple there are about 594 power outages with 12,024 customers still without service from 16:00. ET. Most of the remaining power outages are concentrated in Brooklyn and Queens.
A big storm broke out the power lines on Sunday and originally left 600,000 customers without access to electricity, DTE said. "We expect to recover 90% of all customers by the end of the day Tuesday, and the rest by the end of the day Wednesday," said the utility company.
Big Apple
In New York City, the power outages affected traffic lights, but resulted in "no arrests, no summonses, no reports of trouble at all," said NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio at a news conference on Monday morning. In a speech from an emergency administration command post that was created in Brooklyn, the mayor said that just over a week ago a power outage "came out of nothing" in Manhattan and now after the heat wave – "obviously a predictable situation and therefore preventable" – another power outage.
"We don't have any good answers yet why this was not prevented," they said Blasio, adding that Con Ed did not respond to his request for an answer as to why the interruption occurred, even though it seemed to be a result of a faulty equipment.
While the overall economic impact is still unknown, the damage done to customers, some elderly and exposed to heat, is obvious, they said Blasio.
Dr. Peter Shearer, medical director of Mount Sinai Hospital on the Brooklyn Flatlands campus, told CNN in an email that the hospital had "twice as many patients as usual" during the outcome.
The symptoms were "typical" for a blackout, mostly respiratory problems, said Shearer, who added that from Monday morning, some patients were still hanging around the emergency room waiting to hear if the power had returned to their homes. [19659010] The American Red Cross opened two shelters on request from NYC Emergency Management, according to Michael de Vulpillieres, a Red Cross spokesman. "The protection population for these events was minimal."
Steven Hilly, a 28-year-old resident of Flatlands who lost power on Sunday night, described the heat as "unbearable."
"In this particular storm there was a lot of wood damage, not surprising because of the high wind," Rivard said. This means that the auxiliary personnel must first clear the trees before repairing lines and equipment.
Overall, southeast of Michigan DTE has already repaired nearly half of the more than 2,000 wires drained by the heavy weather whipped through the region during the weekend, and the crews have worked 16-hour shifts around the clock to restore power , according to the company.
"More than 1100 employees and contractors are in the field and nearly 750 workers from as far as Georgia and New York have joined our restoration efforts with extra crews coming through the day," the company said in a statement.
Rivard said the communication about the company's restoration plan wavered during the weekend.
"Yesterday, we experienced significant problems with our technology, making it harder for customers to see their estimated restoration time on our website as well as on our mobile app," Rivard said. The company has fixed these communication channels from Monday and will monitor them to avoid future issues, she added.
Other improved plans include more comprehensive woodcuts along power lines and investments in the distribution network itself, including infrastructure, Rivard said.
DTE also encouraged the public to be cautious about any embedded wires. Pedestrians should assume that any fallen line is energized and stay at least 20 meters away, while motorists should never drive over disused power lines. If a line falls on a vehicle, the passengers should remain in it until the aid arrives.
CNN's Carma Hassan, Julia Jones, Rebekah Riess, Emily Bass and Taylor Romine contributed to this report.
