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NewsMonday, August 27, 2007 4:01 PM CDT
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100,000-plus without power in Midwest flooding
By John McCarthy
Associated Press
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COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Hundreds of thousands of people were without power after their homes were battered by fierce winds and flooding rainstorms that slammed the rain-soaked Midwest.

Tornado warnings were issued Saturday afternoon for parts of central and southeast Ohio. Downed trees and power lines were reported in the southern part of the state, said National Weather Service meteorologist Andy Hatzos.

Flooding this week spread across an 80-mile swath through the northwest and north central parts of the state. Gov. Ted Strickland toured some of the damaged areas Saturday.

"What I've tried to do and what we've all tried to do is let these folks know ... that we are working to get assistance to them as rapidly as possible," Strickland said.

Powerful storms rolling through the Upper Midwest during most of the past week caused disastrous floods from southeastern Minnesota to Ohio that were blamed for at least 18 deaths.

In southern Michigan, the skies were clearing but more than 100,000 customers were without power, utilities said. The National Weather Service confirmed multiple tornadoes touched down Friday in a 12-mile area in Livingston, Genesee and Oakland counties.

Damage in Fenton was extensive, Mayor Sue Osborn said Saturday. "I have seen houses that have trees go right through them," she said. Only residents were being allowed into the city, she said.

Matt McClanahan's Cohoctah Township home was among at least 17 destroyed by a twister.

"I've seen devastation and I've helped clean up, but I've never seen it be me," he said. "I bought a bottle of Jim Beam and it's in the house. I could really use a sip of that right now."

About 73,000 ComEd customers in northern Illinois remained without power Saturday, ComEd spokeswoman Judy Rader said. Power to nearly 600,000 customers had been restored since Thursday's storm, but it could take days to restore power to all customers, officials said.

The storms in Illinois were responsible for at least one death, a man struck by a wind-toppled tree, officials said. In addition, an autopsy was planned on a man found lying in more than 2 feet of water in his basement in suburban Inverness, officials said.

Rain had mostly stopped falling Saturday in northern Illinois as a line of storms moved eastward and southward, and the flood waters that had risen steadily slowed to a creep or began to drop in some areas. Flood warnings remained in effect in 14 counties.

"There's so much flooding continuing from the rain and runoff from two days ago," said Mark Ratzer, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. "That's going to take a while to recede."

Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator R. David Paulison surveyed damage Friday in Rushford, Minn., which was especially hard hit by this week's flooding. Mayor Les Ladewig said about half of Rushford's 760 homes were damaged, including 248 that were destroyed and 91 with serious damage.

About 1,500 homes were damaged around Minnesota. Paulison said FEMA recovery centers should be running early next week in the three counties where President Bush declared disasters Thursday.

Paulison also visited Wisconsin, where flooding destroyed 44 homes and damaged more than 1,400, most of them in the southwestern part of the state.

Officials in Wisconsin's Vernon County lifted evacuation orders Saturday evening, allowing 140 residents to return home. They had been displaced after torrential rainfall strained a number of nearby dams.

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Reader comments on this story - 5 total

Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.

To Powerman wrote on Aug 27, 2007 12:53 PM:

" Maybe the money should have been set aside to bury the lines instead of giving the top executives more and more raises? Even now that they have been given the go ahead to increase their charges dramatically, they still want people to think they lack the money to do anything. I am willing to bet that when the financial statements are released, you will see another large raise for the top executives instead of the money going back into the company. "

What about wrote on Aug 27, 2007 9:30 AM:

" all the looting and people shooting at rescuers and the $2000 debit cards??? Oops I forgot that was the cry baby dead beats in New Orleans... "

Powerman to JD wrote on Aug 26, 2007 8:48 PM:

" The idea of burying all power lines has been looked at many times over the years. Great idea, but cost prohibitive. The estimated cost is around $200 billion. That works out to $2,000 per household- and that would be on top of your regular power bill, which is already too high. Not gonna happen. "

Don't hold breath! wrote on Aug 26, 2007 4:46 PM:

" If you hold your breath until AmerinIP does maintenance you'll likely die. All that money and no maintenance. Bet the wages,salaries and bonuses go way up though. "

JD wrote on Aug 26, 2007 9:47 AM:

" One would think that with all the damage caused every year to power lines in the midwest, combined with not only all the money it takes to repair the damaged power grid but the amount of profits the power companies report each year, they would be looking to bury the lines to minimize the damage caused and the overhead needed to repair them. I do feel sorry for these people though, as we have become so dependent upon electricity that without it we are lost. "
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