MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Heavy rainfall and wind gusts from Hurricane Francine have left thousands of MLGW customers without power throughout the Mid-South.
Earlier this week, the utility company assured residents that they were prepared to manage the outages thanks to the number of crews they have hired to respond.
MLGW CEO Doug McGowen explained that when a tree's root system becomes saturated, heavy rainfall combined with wind gusts can cause large trees to fall, often resulting in power outages.
Memphis resident Walt Jackson told ABC24 he has been without power in his East Memphis neighborhood since 10 a.m. on Thursday. Jackson noted this was not the first time he had experienced issue like this during storms.
"I called MLGW, and they said your part of a power outage of 38 people," Jackson said.
The outage disrupted Jackson's plans for the day. "We had three places we wanted to be today but because of the storm and the power being out, and having to get my generator started up, those plans had to change," he explained.
Maria, a Memphis resident and mother of a five-month-old, also spoke to ABC24 about the challenges she's faced. She reported that the Walgreens at Whitten and Macon Road was closed. Despite the store's lights being on, the sign showed it was closed, leaving Maria without baby supplies.
"It's upsetting. I mean I'm almost out of diapers and there's not many places that are open so I was gonna come here and grab some but they're closed," Maria said.
McGowen pointed out that wind gusts and torrential rain will cause outages to fluctuate. One of MLGW's main strategies is to address tree trimming to reduce the frequency of outages.
"While we trim back 10 to 15 feet from the power lines depending on the kind of power lines," McGowen said. "If you have a 70-foot tree that's 20 feet from those power lines, if it comes down it's going to take power out."
In a press release shared on Thursday, MLGW announces that they have 50 crews ready for damage assessment and over 130 tree-trimming crews to help clear debris.