7,000 without power for a week!!!

Over 75,000 Iowa customers lost their power last Saturday from the ice storm of the century!  

Ice Storm 

Efforts to restore power have been thwarted by snowy, windy weather with gusts up to 55 mph.  The power companies just cannot put their buckets in the air in those conditions.  Although they could use the break from tireless efforts to put lines back up, they have lost over 60 hours of repair time (over 2 days) to the winds. 

The Iowa Association of Electric Cooperatives has coordinated communications and repair efforts and gives us this chart showing who is still without power.

Outage Update

What would you do without electricity or water (since well pumps run on electricity) for a week?  How would you survive?  No TV, no vacuum, no washing machine, no cell phone charger, no computer (what....that's crossing the line), no alarm clock, no radio, no electric stove, no shower, no bath, no water to drink, and no heat.  Would you melt snow for water to drink?  If you have no fireplace, what would you do to keep your house warm enough to keep you and the water pipes in the walls from freezing?  Would you use other fuels to burn in portable heaters and risk carbon monoxide poisoning?

Thousands in Iowa have had to make these choices over the past 7 days.  What would you do?  How would you survive?

Lucky :)

 

5 Comments on 7,000 without power for a week!!!

Tough question but at times like these it shows what your community is made of.  You have already written about Friendly House and Kiwanis Club and other groups/associations that help people out.  I am sure your community is providing assistance to those who will ask.  The problem is many people don't ask and that's when tragedy can happen.  Deaths in conditions like this usually result from, as you mentioned, using other fuels to burn in portable heaters and risking carbon monoxide poisoning.  Also, fires from these alternative heaters.  In times like these everyone needs to check with their neighbor to see how they are doing and offer to help or provide numbers to where they can get some help.  Let's pray the winds die down and the utilities can get power restored soon.

03/04/2007 06:35 AM by Lawrence Kansas Real Estate Rob Lang CRS, GRI, ABR, ePro, Realtor (Realty Executives, Hedges/www.IHaveAddresses.com)


OMG - that's scary!  how do you keep warm?  I can tell you we've been without power for over 2 weeks after the last hurricane here in Miami, but it wasn't freezing - quite the opposite, it was scorching!  We have a generator and share power with neighbors, but not enough for our A/C....we're thinking of getting a small portable a/c for one room to power it with the generator.

Ines

03/05/2007 08:11 AM by Rick & Ines - Miami Shores Real Estate (Majestic Properties)


Ines,

Some people are fortunate to have wood burning stoves.  Even a fireplace would help even though not as efficient of a heat source.  Some people made it to a hardware store early enough to buy one of the generators before they sold out (I'm sure you saw this after the hurricane as well).  Stuff in the refrigerator as well as freezer pretty much had to be thrown away.  Some of the more expensive stuff you put into coolers outside where it is cold.  You just have to be mindful of critters (mice, racoons, etc.) tearing into it.

The two biggest problems are heat and water.  A lot of people just had to abandon their homes for motels and deal with broken water pipes when they return.  Bad deal!

Lucky :)

03/05/2007 02:02 PM by Lucky Lang, Davenport, Iowa Real Estate (Mel Foster Company)


I can tell you we suffer like crazy here with no power in the Summer - it's like being inside an oven - you can't even sleep and there is no chance to eating anything that needs refrigeration.  But I had not thought of no power in the winter - a totally new perspective for me (not a pleasant one), but thank you anyways.

03/05/2007 08:33 PM by Rick & Ines - Miami Shores Real Estate (Majestic Properties)


My inlaws had power out for several days and had to stay in a hotel. Luckily thier water pipes didnt freeze and break, that would of been even more of a mess.  Power is back and running in Cambridge and all is well... another winter survived (Well, lets at least hope its over).

03/06/2007 06:49 AM by Lucky Lang, II (Personal Investor)


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Real Estate Agent: Lucky Lang, Davenport, Iowa Real Estate (Mel Foster Company)
Lucky Lang, Davenport, Iowa Real Estate
Davenport, IA
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Mel Foster Company

Office Phone: (800) 791-8132 Ext.: 325
Cell Phone: (563) 676-9031
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