Crime & Safety

Hurricane Sandy UPDATE: FirstEnergy Says Most 'Should Have Power by the End of the Week'

Storms brought on by Hurricane Sandy have caused power outages and street closings due to flooding and downed wires in Cleveland Heights. Many roads that were closed earlier are now open, and flooding is taken care of, but power is still out.

Updated at 5:42 p.m., 11 p.m. Tuesday

More than 7,600 Cleveland Heights FirstEnergy customers out of 21,485 total, or 36 percent, still do not have power.

Cleveland Heights-University Heights Schools communications director Angee Shaker said all schools have power, and she anticipates that schools will be in session Wednesday. No other school closings have been reported.

Find out what's happening in Cleveland Heightswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Updated 2:19 p.m. Oct. 30

FirstEnergy now reports that 7,309 customers do not have power in Cleveland Heights, down from earlier reports of more than 8,820.

Find out what's happening in Cleveland Heightswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Mark Durbin, spokesperson for FirstEnergy, said that most customers should have power again by the end of the week, though some areas — especially those close to the lake and west of Interstate 77 will take into the weekend to repair.

He added that the company has adequate resources to handle the outages, though the company is seeking more, with crews from as far as Idaho and Montana coming in to help.

Updated 12:37 p.m. Oct. 30

After Hurricane Sandy pummeled the coast and caused hundreds of thousands of power outages in Northeast Ohio, the National Weather Service shortened our high wind warning.

The warning, originally in effect until 4 p.m. Tuesday now ends at 1 p.m.

A lakeshore flood warning is still in effect until 8 p.m., and lakeside roads — like I-90 — are plagued with closures and backups due to high water.

A flood watch for all of Northeast Ohio is still in effect until this evening.

The Cleveland Heights Community Center is still closed. City Hall is open.

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UPDATED at 10:11 a.m., 9:51 a.m. Oct. 30

The intersection of North Park and Coventry is now open.

Lee Road from Cedar Southbound to Meadowbrook is open, but a portion of Meadowbrook Road off of Lee in front of Best Gyro is closed.

Edgehill from Euclid Heights Boulevard to Kenilworth is closed off. Acting City Manager Susanna Niermann O'Neil said if a street is closed, it is most likely due to a tree limb blocking the road or a downed wire. Most street flooding has been taken care of.

Garbage pick up is canceled for today — pickup for Tuesday and Wednesday will be on Wednesday. Any additional trash will be picked up Saturday, O'Neil said.

The stoplights at Meadowbrook and Lee and Essex and Lee are not working — treat the intersections like a four-way stop.

Cedar Fairmount businesses, for the most part, look like they are open and have power.

Many businesses from Lemongrass to the Lee Road Library in the Cedar Lee Business District have lost power. The only businesses that look like they have power are New Heights Grill, Lopez and Dewey's Pizza and other businesses from Meadowbrook to Cedar on the west side of Lee. Call ahead to make sure they are open today.

Most businesses in Coventry look like they have power; however, stores from the parking garage down to Mayfield on the east side of the street appear dark. Call ahead to make sure they are open today.

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All branches of the Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Library are closed Tuesday due to power outages.

And the intersection of North Park and Coventry in all directions and Lee Road from Cedar southbound to Meadowbrook are currently closed due to damage caused by storms from Hurricane Sandy.

More Sandy Coverage: Thousands Without Power in Cleveland Heights

Cleveland Heights-University Heights Schools Closed Tuesday

A fire was also reported on Bluestone Road, said Police Chief Jeffrey Robertson. No injuries have been reported.

Robertson said water spilled over from the Lower Lake of Shaker Lake, causing the closing at Coventry and North Park.

Police have blocked off the intersection, he said, but people are still trying to drive through — and getting stuck.

"People have to remember to be patient, you've got to be careful out there. You have wires down and water, and areas are blocked off for a reason," Robertson said Tuesday morning.

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The section of Lee Road is closed due to downed wires and high water, he said.

He said signals that went down at major intersections are back up now. Currently there are eight to 10 powered by generators. If the stoplight happens to be out at an intersection, drivers should treat it like a four-way stop.

Robertson said he called in extra officers to help handle all of the calls that came in yesterday and this morning. But, despite the dangerous storm, he said "everything, fortunately, went pretty smoothly for us."

Robertson said residents should continue calling police to report downed wires, tree limbs blocking streets and other information.

"If they see any wires down that don’t have a police officer by them or the fire department, give us a call. We don’t know where all the wires are."

Beachwood Patch Editor Nikki Ferrell contributed to this report.

Do you have something to report? Tell us in the comments or email local editor Michelle Simakis at Michelle.Simakis@Patch.com.


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