Massive Windstorm Strikes Michigan, Caused Power Outage For More Than 1M Customers

On Wednesday, a severe weather event happened that describes unusual that claimed two lives and over one million Michigan have lost electric powers. More than, 4,000 power lines and at least 1,000 utility pole were collapsed because of the strong wind and soft soil that leads the trees uprooted and brought down power lines.

According to Reuters, the utility crews reinforced from several Midwestern stated to remove the fallen trees and repair the downed electric lines across the Michigan on Thursday. Authorities said that the duration and impact on the power grid knocked down much of the state with near-hurricane-force winds that lasted 12 hours.

The wind gusts of more than 60 miles per hours (97 km per hour) that affects more than 800,000 DTE customer by the interruption, while more than 300,00 clients of Consumer Energy Co., another Michigan utility that was also without the power. The utility executives said that most of the power is expected to be back on Sunday night.

Yahoo added that Lauer of DTE advised the residents to check on their elderly neighbors and to others with health problems while the utility restoring the power that will likely take several days. Meanwhile, the state police reported that there are two storm-related fatalities that happened on Wednesday when a fallen tree caused a car to swerve into another tree.

When the forecast calling for the weather to turn colder on Thursday and Friday night, the emergency officials hurried to open shelters for residents that left without heat because of the electric interruption. Governor Rick Snyder said on a news that there still hundreds of thousands of individual without a power, and for the forecast prediction that the temperatures will drop, their only concerned is the remaining individuals to be warm and safe.

The governor also warned the motorists to be cautious of traffic signals on the blink. According to DTE Electric's president and chief operating officer, Trevor Lauer, in DTE Energy's 100-year in history, the said weather event was very unusual and the most significant one.