Hurricane Sandy is being called an "unprecedented disaster" by LIPA, and it's hard to argue with them on that.
On Tuesday, Oct. 30, a little more than 16,000 out of 17,370 LIPA customers were without power in Levittown, with a total of 847,482 customers across Long Island in the dark, according to the LIPA outage map.
Things got worse Thursday - 17,688 had no power in Levittown, with more than 663,000 out in Long Island. And on Friday at 3:30 p.m., some 12,657 Levittown customers were still in the dark, with many seeking refuge at the Levittown Library and other local hotspots.
On Sunday, Nov. 4, 7,902 customers in Levittown were dark, and that number was still over 7,000 on Monday morning.
Wednesday Update: More than 4,000 customers in Levittown still remain without power as of Wednesday, Nov. 7 at 3:25 p.m., according to the LIPA outage map.
LIPA released the following statement on their website Wednesday morning: "We are closely monitoring weather reports regarding the Nor’easter forecasted to reach our area today. Customers should expect that this storm could cause additional damage in our area, resulting in additional power outages."
With many customers frustrated and wondering why they haven't seen any workers and LIPA trucks on their street, the company said the following:
"...many of these workers use their personal vehicles, which have no LIPA markings. In addition, crews we have brought in from other companies are often in various types of vehicles with no LIPA markings."
"More than 12,000 workers are dedicated to this effort. This includes more than 8,000 linemen and tree trim crews from all over the country, some of whom have been airlifted in by the National Guard."
LIPA Criticism: LIPA updated their website on Sunday, Nov. 4, saying that the company is on track to have 90% of all customers back online by Wednesday.
LIPA gave the following update on Friday at 2 p.m.: ".At this time, we expect to restore the majority of customers who lost power by the weekend of Nov. 10th and 11th. The remaining customers could take an additional week or more, excluding those areas where extreme flooding requires coordinating our efforts with local officials."
Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano and other officials have blasted LIPA's response to the storm.
"LIPA's response to Hurricane Sandy has been shameful," Mangano said on his Facebook page. " I, in partnership with Congressmen King and Israel, have contacted Federal officials for assistance in restoring power."
School Opening Update: All schools in Levittown and Island Trees were closed last week.
On Monday, Nov. 5, the Levittown School District is open - all buildings got power back on Sunday night. In addition, election day Tuesday will now be a regular school day for staff and students, and SAT testing scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 3 has been re-scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 17.
Island Trees elementary and middle schools will be open on Monday, but the HS may not be open, and an update will come on Sunday.
Sandy Aftermath Photos in Levittown: The photos submitted by our users from Sandy have been devastating. Patch user Joe F. submitted a photo of a large tree split down the middle, in the street blocking Compass and Astronomy Ln. User Anne Hanna also reported that a large Maple tree crashed down on Old Farm Rd., with a utility pole also threatening to come down. Others have reported falling trees taking down power lines and transformers.
Check out our photo gallery of the storm here, and post your Hurricane Sandy aftermath photos and updates on the storm damage in our Hurricane group.
To report an outage to LIPA, call 1-800-490-0075 or text 'REG' to 695472 (myLIPA) and then 'OUT.' For more important emergency contacts, tips and links, click here.
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