Hurricane Helene made her presence felt Sept. 27 in Wayne County.
As Helene made landfall along the Gulf Coast, the storm system’s outer bands brought heavy rain and strong winds to Indiana, causing power outages throughout Wayne County.
Tony Foster II, Richmond Power & Light’s general manager and CEO, said Friday night’s storm caused “extensive and widespread damage,” which included broken poles. Eleven circuits serving about 11,800 RP&L customers were opened.
By around 2 a.m. Saturday, all circuits were restored and RP&L’s focus shifted to restoring power to about 3,500. That number decreased to a couple dozen as of Monday morning. Wayne County Emergency Management said power outages in the county were far less.
Between 5-10 p.m. Friday, dispatchers received 182 storm-related calls, including 119 for downed trees and 50 for downed wires, although some were duplicate reports.
A version of this article appeared in the October 2 2024 print edition of the Western Wayne News.