Power Restored In Most Of Greenwich After Storm Downs Trees, Power Lines
EDGEWATER, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- Powerful storms wreaked havoc on parts of Tri-State area on Sunday, downing trees and power lines, but Monday night power was restored to most customers in Greenwich.
Connecticut Light & Power said it is still working to restore power to 100 customers.
Earlier, a storm left thousands in the dark and even halted train service in some areas.
"The wind came in real fast. It was super fast, like really you knew this was something really quick and fierce," Greenwich resident Pat Kermin told CBS 2's Lou Young.
Earlier Monday, virtually every home and business in Greenwich was without power.
A state of emergency was declared for Greenwich by the First Selectman, the city's term for mayor.
The third floor of Tim Drinkall's Greenwich home was crushed after a tree landed on the roof. Drinkall told Young things could have been much worse.
"The kids weren't home...so we're very happy that nothing happened," Drinkall said.
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Colony Floors on Greenwich Ave. had to close early Monday because of the outage, so one employee said he was going to use the extra time off to escape the heat.
"I'm going out kayaking, getting out on the water, going to cool off," the worker told WCBS 880's Monica Miller.
A hot dog vendor set up in town earlier, hoping to cash in.
"There so much foot traffic going up and down here because people have nothing else to do. They're just out trying to occupy time," said the vendor.
The man told Miller he sold out of hot dogs two hours earlier than expected.
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And one mother of three had to get creative to keep her kids and their three cousins entertained.
"Well we'll have to see as the day goes but so far it's been a long one and we'll see what else we can find to do or where else to eat that's been open," the mother told Miller.
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One of the other areas hard hit was Edgewater, N.J. where a transformer exploded in flames after a lightning strike.
"I was sitting at the traffic light and I've never seen lightning hit anything before, but it hit the transformer and it just literally in front of my eyes exploded and fell right to the ground," said witness Arslan Akhtar. "I had my kids with me at the time and they were scared."
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A car fire worsened the tough conditions. Police believe it may have started when a vehicle touched a fallen electrical line, sparking a fire-ball that could be seen for miles.
"I saw orange flames in the skies," said cab driver Naz Agahan.
Parts of Westchester County and southwestern Connecticut were also hit hard by the storm. Downed trees shut down Metro-North's New Haven line between Stamford and Harrison for a time, but service has since been restored.
One person was killed and nine others injured at the Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania by a lightning strike in the parking lot after the race. The drivers were ordered off the track when the heavy rain hit.
Meanwhile, the National Weather Service is investigating whether a tornado touched down in Sidney, N.Y. near Binghamton.
Witnesses reported seeing a funnel cloud Sunday evening, but there were no reports of any injuries or serious damage.
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