Some parts of Cape still lack power from Saturday storms

Hundreds of Cape Girardeau residents remained without power Sunday following the powerful storms that swept through the area late Saturday afternoon.

By 4 p.m., Ameren had restored power to more than 2,500 customers, said Mike Cleary, spokesperson for Ameren. About 2,900 customers were without power after the storms.

"We're hoping to have everyone back on by the end of the day," Cleary said late Sunday afternoon.

The National Weather Service in Paducah, Ky., reports that two storms with straight line, damaging winds swept through the area between 4 and 6 p.m. on Saturday. Damage was mostly centralized in the northeast section of Cape Girardeau, where numerous trees and power lines were knocked down.

The Southeast Missouri chapter of the American Red Cross sent volunteers into affected neighborhoods to assess the damage.

Cheryl Klueppel, local American Red Cross executive director, said three homes suffered major damage. "The biggest demand from residents continues to be ice and water," she said.

Salvation Army volunteer Charles Pruitt was busy passing out water and sandwiches to residents Sunday afternoon in the parking lot of the Red Star Baptist Church, 1316 N. Main St. By 4 p.m., more than 200 residents had visited the emergency response unit.

"Just a few weeks ago we were up in St. Louis with that power outage. Now we're helping people out at home," Pruitt said.

Joel and Lorrann Hatchett live in the 1800 block of North Main Street, one of the areas hardest hit by the storm. "It looks like that storm just came right across our house," Joel Hatchett said.

The couple and their two children were out of town Saturday afternoon, and returned later that night to a dark neighborhood.

"We slept in our house last night with the doors open," Joel Hatchett said. "Around midnight it got extremely hot."

Southeast Missouri State University president Dr. Ken Dobbins said Saturday's storms left the university without power for approximately three hours.

The American Red Cross will assess the storm-related damage today, and will determine if assistance is still needed, Klueppel said.

jfreeze@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 246