Caruthersville gets some services restored after Sunday's tornado

Water was restored in tornado-ravaged Caruthersville, Mo., and electricity to all but nearly 700 customers was also restored Friday.

A boil water order that had been instituted for the town following the Sunday storm was lifted at 9 a.m. Friday, according to Caruthersville fire chief Charlie Jones.

The storm initially knocked out power to 26,000 customers in Southeast Missouri, according to a news release from AmerenUE.

As of Friday afternoon, 688 customers remained without power in the Caruthersville area, according to the utility's Web site. On Thursday night, 1,200 customers in Caruthersville had no electricity.

Of those customers without power Friday, about 500 could not have their electricity restored because of extensive damage to their homes or business, the release stated.

In the days following the storm, AmerenUE crews replaced 400 utility poles and repaired 2,000 other poles.

Most of the roads in town had been cleared of debris, and the majority of what was left had to be cleared from between the curb and the property line, Jones said.