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IPL, DPW crews prepare for another round of strong storms

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – IPL and Indianapolis DPW crews are ready for Wednesday night’s storms. This comes after strong storms left thousands in the dark, and littered neighborhoods.

Crews are still picking up the pieces, but they’re not the only ones. West side neighbors are dealing with downed trees as well.

“It looked like a disaster,” Indianapolis resident, Alicia Taylor said. “It looked like a tornado went through here. A thief in the night.”

“There’s still a lot of debris out, and there’s still roads that you have to serve around the trees,” Indianapolis resident, Nastassia Allen said.

Tree limbs, and branches weren’t the only problem. Nearly 40,000 people lost power, with some being in the dark for days.

“No power for three and half days, and all the food in the refrigerator went bad,” Taylor said.

“It was hectic,” Allen said. “We had to go and stay with friends, and family until we could get our services restored.”

IPL said they’re working to prevent this.

Following last week’s storms, 400 crews cleared trees, repaired lines and replaced poles.

For this week, IPL has out-of-state assistance, and its own crews on standby. But with many trees weakened last week, IPL fears it could be a long night.

“The one fortunate thing of this happening is that last week’s storm, and this week’s storm, is happening during the week where we’re already fully staffed,” IPL spokesperson, Brandi Davis-Handy said.

A full staff is something Allen said the city needs. “A little nervous,” Allen said. “We’ve prepared our self this time with flashlights and candles and things.”

A good lesson other west side neighbors learned as well, including Taylor, who knows how unpredictable the summer weather can be.

“That’s part of Indianapolis, Indiana,” Taylor said. “You don’t know whether you’re going to have summer, or winter in a day.”

City DPW officials said three crews are on standby Wednesday night to clean fallen trees.

They also want you to call the mayor’s action center at 317-327-4622, if one falls on a right-of-way.