Heavy Winds from Laura Arriving in Arkansas

By: Arkansas Editorial Team

Today, Hurricane Laura is expected to impact Entergy Arkansas customers with 40-50 mph winds and wind gusts up to 65 mph in the southernmost counties of the state.  There will be heavy flooding rainfall of 4-8 inches with locally higher amounts possible and major flooding is expected. There is also the chance of isolated tornados but due to the nature of the storm they are not able to forecast where or when. We are prepared for severe weather with people, crews and resources ready to respond to outages quickly and safely, while practicing social distancing measures needed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the additional measures our crews must take, restoration may take longer, especially where there are widespread outages. We recommend customers prepare as well. For tips and updates visit www.entergy.com/stormcenter.

STORM RESTORATION PROCESS

Following a storm, we deploy scouts to assess damage. Our scouts work as quickly and safely as possible in sometimes very dangerous conditions. As damages are assessed, we will communicate with you the conditions found along with an estimated restoration time and our progress toward restoring your power. We can begin restoring service to customers by closing circuit breakers, rerouting power and other means, but we must wait until sustained winds are less than 30 mph to use our bucket trucks. As we assess damages, we will begin restoring service where it is deemed safe to do so. We ask for your patience, and please know restoring your power safely and quickly is our top priority.

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 main electric panel. 
• Do not run a generator in a confined space without adequate ventilation.
• Turn off any electrical appliances that can easily be turned to the off position until power is restored.
• 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. The best way to get information about outages is via Entergy’s View Outage application on the homepage. Additional resources for your convenience:

• Download our app for your smartphone at entergy.com/app or visit Entergy Storm Center to stay informed on our restoration progress.
• Sign up for text alerts. From your cell phone, text R E G to 368374, or visit entergytext.com.
• Follow us on Facebook and on Twitter @ EntergyARK.
• Follow updates in your local news media, like radio, television and newspapers.