MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A number of people across the city are still dealing with ongoing problems either caused by the storm or made worse by it, even though power has been restored.
There are just over 200 outages right now with customers in the dark for various reasons.
“At the time, I was at Le Bonheur, so they called me,” said Felecia Powell.
She rushed home last Saturday to find a large tree fanned out across her front yard on Carnes.
“Through the fence, on top of this car, and through the power line and knocked everything down,” she told WREG while pointing to the damage.
The tree also caused Powell’s fuse box to blow and gas line to rupture.
“That’s the box. They took the smart meter. The smart meter also caught on fire,” she said.
The damage now seems minimal compared to what came next. Powell, her 8-month-old and 2-year-old grandkids, and 17-year-old daughter have been living without power for almost two weeks.
“As you can imagine, not being able to warm bottles, taking cold baths, it’s been something else,” she said.
Powell said the family stayed in the Red Cross shelter the first few days, but since it closed, they’re back home and in the heat.
It gets worse; Powell said her teenager is a dialysis patient and is struggling without air conditioning.
Not to mention, her car battery was swiped hours after her power went out.
Here’s why she is in limbo: Her landlord got an electrician to replace the fuse box. Now, she just needs code enforcement to sign off, so MLGW can hook up the wires.
“Patience is wearing out now. Now, I’m just waiting on them to come out,” said Powell.
WREG called the county Thursday afternoon, and they immediately kicked into high gear. They looked at her case and promised us they’ll be out Friday morning to get it resolved.
The county’s code enforcement also told us they are in emergency mode and are working double time to sift through all the cases.
They’re asking folks to make sure the contractor they use is reputable and has the necessary permits, so it doesn’t slow the process down.
