Northwest Louisiana has been hit hard by severe storms that swept through the area on Thursday night and again on Sunday morning, leaving thousands of residents without power in the midst of sweltering heat. According to SWEPCO spokesperson Michael Corbin, as of Sunday afternoon, 99,000 customers in Louisiana were still without power, and the damage to the infrastructure is extensive.
The restoration process is unfortunately tedious and time-consuming, with some customers in the Natchitoches area expected to be without power until tomorrow night, and some in the Shreveport area not expected to have their power restored until the weekend.
To help those affected by the power outages, cooling centers have been made available by Caddo Sheriff Steve Prator. However, for some residents, the situation is a double whammy, as fallen trees have caused damage to their homes.
Shreveport Mayor Tom Arcenaux has expressed his sympathies for those affected by the storms, but unfortunately, the damage is not extensive enough to warrant federal assistance for storm victims.
The damage extends from near Alexandria into east Texas and Arkansas. Nearly 3000 lineman have been brought into the area to help fix the damage.