Storm knocks out power in Knott Co. area

Many Knott County residents were among those with no electrical service after severe storms swept through Eastern Kentucky on Friday and Sunday nights.

On Monday, July 2, Kentucky Power Company officials reported their efforts to assess damage and restore power to more than 39,000 customers. At the height of the outage on Friday, over 63,800 customers were without power. At least 400 outside utility workers were brought in to help with repairs.

Approximately 70% of customers who lost power Friday night had been restored by Sunday evening, then another storm that night caused an additional 22,000 outages.

Floyd and Pike counties were among those sustaining the worst damage, with over 3,500 customers affected in Floyd and more than 12,000 in Pike. In Knott County, 212 customers reported loss of electric service.

Kentucky Power representatives ask that residents use caution in storm conditions — never approach downed power lines, report them immediately by calling (800) 572-1113, or notify local emergency or law enforcement officials.