Late Afternoon Storm Brings Heavy Rain, Flooding, Down Wires

Today's late afternoon storm has brought with it heavy rains, lightning strikes, flooding and down utility lines.

- Flooding was reported on Main Street at Midland Avenue in Nyack.

- A tree was reported down on Strawtown Road, with wires brought down.

- Power lines are down on Ludvigh Road near Middletown Road.

- A traffic light was not functioning on Route 304 near Albertus Magnus High School.

- Lightning strikes were reported in Nanuet and Valley Cottage.

- A tree was hit by lightning at 14 Henford Drive in New City. New City firefighters said the strike damaged the tree and the home had smoke in the basement from damage to the electrical system. There was also debris from the lightning strike.

A Severe Thunderstorm Watch has been posted by the National Weather Service for the area until 9 p.m. today.

To help its customers prepare for the possible effects of destructive storms, Orange and Rockland Utilities offers these coping tips:

• For safety’s sake, don’t touch or approach any downed wires. Assume it is energized and dangerous. Call O&R immediately at 1-877-434-4100. Depending on the situation, you may also want to call your local police to divert traffic until the crew arrives.

• Maintain a distance of at least 50 feet from downed wires and anything they are in contact with including puddles of water and fences. Supervise your children so that they are not in the vicinity and keep pets on a leash.

• If a fallen wire is draped over a car, do not approach the car and make reckless rescue attempts. Remain a safe distance away, and try to keep the occupant of the vehicle calm. If possible, emergency personnel should handle the situation.

• Stock up on non-perishable food, bottled water, manual can opener, baby supplies and pet food. Set your refrigerator and freezer controls to their coldest settings. Fill the bathtub with water.

• Have emergency equipment within reach --- portable radio, flashlights, spare batteries, first aid kit, cell phone and important medications. Update your personal list of emergency phone numbers. Keep O&R’s number 1-877-434-4100 near the phone to report power outages.

• If you experience a power outage, don’t assume that O&R automatically knows about it or that someone else will report it. To be sure the outage is reported, please call us at 1-877-434-4100 to let us know what happened. The more information you can provide us, the more we can help you.   

• Remember, if the base station of your cordless phone plugs into the wall, your phone will be unusable during a power outage. 

• If a family member relies on electrically operated medical devices, secure a portable generator or make alternate arrangements for care. O&R does not provide customers with generators.

• Keep at least a half-tank of gas in your car. Consider having extra cash on-hand, in case ATM machines don’t work.

• Listen for storm alerts on the radio. In case of power outages, O&R will keep the stations updated on repair progress.

• Learn how to manually open and close any electrically powered garage door, security door or gate.