Storm cleanup in northern Delaware continues; Gov. Carney surveys hard hit neighborhoods

Sunday, August 9, 2020
Storm cleanup in northern Delaware continues
It was another busy day in Delaware as crews continue to clean up and repair downed power lines in the aftermath of storms that pummeled the state.

NEW CASTLE COUNTY, Delaware (WPVI) -- It was another busy day in Delaware as crews continue to clean up and repair downed power lines in the aftermath of storms that pummeled the state.

First, tropical storm Isaias, then another storm on Friday that produced heavy rains and fierce winds.

Governor John Carney touring sites Sunday were some of the damage was most severe

"I don't think I've seen two back to back storms like with the kind of damage, tree damage in particular. I mean the power and the force of the winds that went through here," he said.

The National Weather Service is now taking a second look at the damage hoping to complete an assessment of the second storm to determine if another wave of tornadoes tore through New Castle County.

"It's a bigger event than most people realize and it was back-to-back with an event earlier in the week that sucked out resources," Carney said.

One of the largest challenges in the aftermath? Power restoration. Sunday, officials for Delmarva Power addressing when it's likely most will see a return of service

"There's a significant amount of rebuilding that's literally going on as we speak, we have about 1,000 FTE's that are in the fields in their trucks working on what needs to be rebuilt in the system right now," said one company rep on scene.

More than 10,000 customers have seen a return of service since the storms, officials hoping to see the rest back online by Monday evening.

State leaders here wanting to send a message they are listening and are working to rebuild what was lost.

"Our constituents are calling us and saying what's going on? And so we wanted to bring folks out here to show them what's actually happening," Carney added.