Lightning Strikes, 1300 Lose Temporarily Power
[Updated: All power restored]
Due to what appears to be lightning strike in the west end at around 9am this morning [Aug 15], approximately 1300 customers are without power at this time.
The Bermuda Weather Service issued a Thunderstorm Advisory valid for this morning through this afternoon, and the island is presently being hit with a spate of thunderstorms.
Unofficial reports indicate that lines are down in the Southampton area, there are traffic delays in the area and BELCO technicians are on the scene working to resolve the issue.
A BELCO spokesperson confirmed they had a report of lines down, approximately 1300 customers lost power at 9:02am and said the cause appears to be a lightning strike.
They are expected to provide more information shortly, and we will update as able.
Update 10.04pm: Unofficial reports indicate the lightning strike happened in the general vicinity outside Heron Bay Marketplace on Middle Road.
Update 10.10am: Approximately 700 customers were restored in the first hour, and as of this time 594 customers remain without power, BELCO said. Restoration work is ongoing.
Update 10.25am: The majority of customers have power restored, with 124 customers remaining without power at this time.
Update 10.30am: Police are diverting traffic in the Middle Road area in Southampton, and it appears the road will be blocked for the next few hours.
Update 11.04pm: BELCO said the crews working on restoration need to rebuild a couple of spans of overhead line. This will take the majority of the day, as crews cannot work safely while lightning is ongoing. The remaining 124 customers will have power restored when all work is complete.
Update 2.20pm: All power has been restored. A BELCO spokesperson said, “All repair work was completed and service restored to all customers at approximately 1:40 PM. We thank customers for their patience, as our crews worked to complete the job safely and as quickly as possible.”
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Articles that link to this one:
- BELCO Restores Power After Lightning Strike | Bernews.com | August 30, 2013
I witnessed Heron Bay Market Place get struck by lightening, was sitting at Riddells bay n saw the roof get struck! thing made a weird noise n was all sorts of colors!
lightning, what lightning? I guess I slept through the whole thing cause I haven’t heard a damn thing.
then you must not live in Bermuda
Those of us who have jobs saw it !!
Really? Heron Bay Marketplace? Hope nobody was hurt.
yep! was waiting for the weather to clear n just saw lighting hit the roof of the building, no ambulances were around just fire services based off the sounds of sirens. a lot of traffic diversions
If all 1300 people had their own windmills and their own solar panels, this would not be an issue!
So now everyone needs to get windmills and solar panels? Girl, go long. Buy one for my house if that’s the case. *rolling my eyes*
*rolled my eyes* too – all while taking a nice cold shower this morning thanks to my solar panels. #awfulstarttomyday!
solar panels wont help right now… NO SUN!
remember what they said back in school? always read over what you said. this is a prime example of stupidity
Lol you buyin dem for everyone?! LMFAO
Hmmmm, no wind and as dark as 5:00am. Yup those windmills and solar panels would save the day for sure.
I think I understand. Wind generators=high target=lightning=BOOM=no power. Got it.
Storm=no sun=useless solar panels. Got that one too.
Any more bright spark ideas?
How about thanking the Belco crews who are out in this weather trying to fix the problem. Thankyou Guys!!
I agree, thank you guys on the Belco trucks, they always do a stellar job in sometimes difficult conditions
A big thanks and shout out to the BELCO crews for working under these conditions to get electricity restored. Please Be Safe!
Surprised no one has blamed PLP for this yet!!! LMAO
@Mazumbo, you really need to take a break from this type of talk when everyone else is talking sense, except for the windmill/solar comment
Bore off Mazumbo. As hard to believe as this, some things are not about politics. You really are a deluded fool.
herb, kathy was not talking sense. i think she got hit by the lightning herself cause her comment not only blew her mind it blew mines too. next stop mawi.
Herb said, “except for the windmill/solar comment”. Read carefully. I do agree that she may have gotten hit by lightning though because that was a DUMB comment.
I blame the PLP, what about the rest of you ?!! Lol