US storms kill 5, cut power to 1.3 M homes
WASHINGTON (AFP) — The US capital braced for more violent storms Saturday after wild weather tore through the region, claiming at least five lives and cutting power to hundreds of thousands of people.
The Washington Post reported that a person died in the city after touching a live electrical wire, while four others were killed by falling trees in suburbs located in the neighboring states of Virginia and Maryland.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch said at least six deaths were being blamed on the storm across all of Virginia.
In total, more than 1.3 million homes and businesses were left without electricity, according to the newspaper.
The storms followed a day of record high temperatures and more severe weather was forecast to hit the region later Saturday as temperatures soared yet again, set to surpass the 100- degree Fahrenheit (38-degree Celsius) mark for the second day in a row. Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell declared a state of emergency in the storm’s wake, saying the thunderstorms triggered the biggest non-hurricane related power outage in Virginia history. More than 411,400 customers were still without power in northern Virginia by early afternoon Saturday, according to the website of local utility company Dominion Virginia Power. Across the state, more than 661,250 people continue to be affected, the company said.
Pepco, a local utility company that covers Washington and parts of Maryland, said the inclement weather left more than 443,000 customers in the dark, adding it could take more than 24 hours to repair broken power lines.
In Maryland’s Montgomery County, where 210,000 people remained without power, cooling centers were set up to prevent heat- related health problems.
Authorities also urged residents to refrain from turning on lawn sprinklers and limit the flushing of toilets in an effort to conserve water.
Storm damage also extended beyond the capital region.
Further afield in the state of West Virginia, Governor Earl Ray Tomblin declared a state of emergency after more than 500,000 customers in 27 counties were left without power.