State Of Emergency Issued In Dover As Authorities Respond To Possible Tornado Damage
DOVER, Del. (CBS) - Authorities in Dover, Delaware are responding to multiple calls of possible tornado damage in the city. They are currently asking residents to not call 911 unless it's an emergency.
"Please remain patient as we work through these issues. Our partners at Dover Fire and Dover Electric are working with us as well," Dover Police Department-Delaware posted on Facebook.
Dover Police say their building is operating on generator power which has impacted some of their operations.
A state of emergency has been declared in the city of Dover, which includes driving restrictions.
"We are asking you to stay in your homes and avoid unnecessary travel," Dover Police said. "If your vehicle is parked on the street where trees are down, please move it if possible to help our utility and cleanup crews."
Bradford Street flooded in downtown Dover. Power is also out in many places downtown. #NetDE #KentDE #DoverDE @wboc pic.twitter.com/myQVFZeZE4
— Tom Lehman (@TomLehmanWGAL) August 4, 2020
Several tornado warnings were issued for parts of Delaware throughout Tuesday morning. The National Weather Service indicated there were tornadoes in Sandtown, Dover and Smyrna.
Delaware Electric is reporting thousands of customers are without power across Kent and Sussex counties as a result of the storm.
10:00 a.m. Outage Update: More than 23,000 DEC members are now without power. Crews are responding to numerous reports of tornado or storm damage across Delaware. Thousands of members are going to be without power for a good part of the day, possibly longer. pic.twitter.com/hyYjtaa84K
— Delaware Electric (@DEElectricCoop) August 4, 2020
Officials say outages are expected to last several hours and potentially much longer.