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Insights > Entergy Mississippi Prepares for Hurricane Zeta
Entergy Mississippi Prepares for Hurricane Zeta
10/28/2020
Entergy Mississippi is preparing for the impacts of Hurricane Zeta, which is predicted to make landfall this afternoon over southeastern Louisiana as a strong Category 1 or Category 2 hurricane with maximum winds of 100 mph. High winds, tidal surges, isolated tornadoes and inland heavy rainfall are expected to reach into southern Mississippi, with the main threats being isolated tornadoes, occasional to frequent lightning, and damaging winds in the strongest squalls. These severe weather conditions may cause power outages in the south and east central portion of our service territory.
We are working to ensure we have the people and resources to respond to outages safely, while practicing social distancing measures needed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Crews are ready to respond quickly and safely, following our proven storm restoration process.
Along with standard storm preparations, Entergy employees are navigating the COVID-19 pandemic by taking additional steps. These include traveling separately when possible, adjusting crew staging locations and increasing the use of drones. Due to the additional measures crews must take, restoration may take longer, especially where there are widespread outages. For their safety and yours, please stay away from work zones. If you need to report a problem with your service or get bill payment help, we’re just a phone call away: 1-800-ENTERGY.
As with any weather event, please be mindful of the following safety tips:
- Live wires can be deadly. Stay away from downed power lines. Call 1-800-9OUTAGE or 1-800-968-8243 to report downed or dangling power lines, poles or other damaged equipment.
- Do not trim trees or remove debris on or near downed power lines. Only power company crews or their contractors should remove trees or limbs touching power lines.
- Keep away from the immediate areas where crews are working. There is always the danger of moving equipment and the possibility of construction materials or limbs or overhead wires falling to the ground.
- If you plan on using a generator for temporary power, get a licensed electrician and disconnect from the utility electric system before hooking up to your home main electric panel.
- Do not run a generator in a confined space without adequate ventilation.
- Avoid using candles or other flammable devices to warm your home.
- Check on seniors, who can be particularly susceptible to extreme temperatures.
- Try to stay off the roads in affected areas. More traffic in bad weather leads to more accidents, including more injuries and fatalities as well as accidents that can damage electrical poles and other equipment, creating outages and impeding the ability of crews to access and repair damage and slowing restoration.
- We want to keep you informed and in control so here is the best way to get information about outages in addition to the View Outage application:
- Download our app for your smartphone at entergy.com/app or visit entergystormcenter.com to stay informed on our restoration progress. Android users who have difficulty accessing the app on their smartphones can get information from the mobile version of our site at entergy.com.
- Sign up for text alerts. From your cell phone, text R E G to 36778, or visit entergytext.com.
- Follow us on Twitter.com/EntergyMS and Facebook.com/EntergyMS.
- Follow updates in your local news media, like radio, television and newspapers.
