A severe summer thunderstorm ripped through parts of Dutchess County last night, causing significant damage with downed power lines, trees and other damage. Dutchess County Executive Sue Serino hosted a conference call with local municipal leaders, County officials from the Public Works and Emergency Response departments, and representatives from Central Hudson and NYSEG, among others to discuss restoration efforts. The impacts were significant and it is expected to be a multi-day restoration event to open roadways and restore power.
Residents are reminded to avoid downed wires for safety. Always assume wires are live, do not drive over downed wires and stay at least 30 feet away.
The storm’s most significant impacts were in City and Town of Poughkeepsie, East Fishkill, LaGrange, Beekman, Union Vale and Village and Town of Pawling.
Central Hudson is currently reporting over 33,000 outages and NYSEG is reporting over 7,400 outages across Dutchess County,
Full restoration is expected to take multiple days. Both utilities are working with mutual aid and contract crews to help expedite restoration efforts.
Central Hudson will be distributing dry ice and bottled water starting at noon today at the following locations:
NYSEG is working to establish dry ice and water distribution. Information will be posted once finalized.
Dutchess County 911 Communication Center had more than 740 calls in a four-hour period last night, with many calls rolling over to Ulster County due to the volume. The majority of the calls were reports of downed trees and power lines. Residents are reminded that calls to report outages (including cable, internet and power) should be directed to their local utility service provider. Reports of downed wires, particularly live and sparking, should be reported to 911 as these are life-threatening emergencies.
Roadways throughout Dutchess County continue to be impacted by downed trees and wires. Dutchess County Public Works highway crews, as well as local municipal crews, are working in coordination with Central Hudson and NYSEG to clear roadways as quickly as possible
Dutchess County Parks and Trails are open today with Parks teams clearing various storm damage. Visitors on Dutchess County trails, notably the WRS Dutchess Rail Trail, should expect debris and downed branches along the trail and should exercise caution and expect sporadic closures while clean-up takes place and are advised to stay away from areas where crews are working for safety.
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