Storm Center > Crews Scouting Damages and Restoring Power Following Easter Sunday Storms

Crews Scouting Damages and Restoring Power Following Easter Sunday Storms

04/12/2020

Waves of violent thunderstorms crossed Louisiana on Easter Sunday, downing limbs and uprooting trees onto power lines and snapping utility poles in some areas, causing outages for thousands of customers. Crews are performing damage assessments and restoring power where it is safe to do so, including in hard hit north Louisiana where Monroe and West Monroe officials reported their communities suffered significant tornado damage.

At the peak Sunday afternoon, 26,500 customers were without power, the majority in Ouachita and other northern Louisiana parishes. Crews had restored power to approximately 10,000 customers by 7:30 p.m. The storm system continued moving through the southeastern part of the state Sunday night and could cause additional outages.

An Entergy storm team of approximately 1,500, including support personnel and contractors, are engaged in restoration efforts across the state. As local restoration is completed, some crews will travel to north Louisiana to help accelerate restoration in that region.

Some areas do not have an estimated time of restoration. That information will be provided after completion of damage assessments. The goal is to complete damage assessments by Monday morning. As of Sunday night, personnel and scouts identified approximately 200 poles, 450 spans of wire and 50 transformers had been damaged across Entergy’s service area in Louisiana, with the vast majority of the damage in the north Louisiana region.

As restoration work is undertaken, priority is given to repairs to critical infrastructure, like hospitals and police stations, as well as repairs that will most quickly restore service to the largest number of customers. For more information on how Entergy restores power following severe weather, please visit the Entergy Storm Center restoration page.

Crews are taking extra precautions to remain safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. If you see workers in the field, please keep your distance so that everyone can remain safe. Due to the additional efforts that must be taken due to the COVID-19 pandemic, restoration times may be extended, especially where there are numerous, widespread outages.

Also, please stay away from downed power lines and immediately report it at 1-800-9OUTAGE (800-968-8243). There is no way to know if a downed power line or any debris that may be around them are energized. For more safety information, visit the Storm Center safety page.

We know you want us to keep you informed every step of the way about our response. Here is how you can get information.

  • Download our app for your smartphone at entergy.com/app.
  • Sign up for text alerts. From your cellphone, text REG to 368374.
  • Visit the Entergy Storm Center website and our View Outages page.
  • Follow us on Twitter.com/entergyla or Facebook.com/entergyla
  • Call us at 800-9OUTAGE (800-968-8243).
  • Follow updates in your local news media, like radio, television and newspapers.

Louisiana Editorial Team