Thousands remain without power following powerful tornadoes

WYNNE, Ark. (KAIT) - Thousands of Entergy customers remain without power after deadly tornadoes swept across Arkansas.

According to Entergy Arkansas, about 5,500 customers were without electricity as of noon Tuesday, April 4.

That’s down from a peak of 56,000 outages following the March 31 tornadoes that left 5 people dead, including 4 in Wynne.

“More than 1,500 utility poles, 435 transformers and nearly 2,000 spans of wire were damaged or destroyed in the Little Rock, Jacksonville, Sherwood and Wynne areas,” the utility company said in a news release.

While more than 3,300 people are working to rebuild the system, the company warned that more forecast storms could hamper restoration efforts.

“Coupled with a forecast for more rain and severe weather, it will be later in the week before some customers in the greatest impacted areas are restored,” the company said. “Additional outages may occur.”

Customer service representatives will be on-site starting Tuesday at the Wynne Technology Center, 1790 Falls Blvd., from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The company urges customers who have damaged homes without power to call 1-800-ENTERGY (1-800-368-3749).