The storm that blew through the county on Friday, June 29, caused such severe damage that crews of power company workers are still at work repairing the damage.

According to Calhoun County Office of Emergency Services (OES), there were, as of noon on Tuesday, approximately 1,144 customers still without electricity.

Power company officials had told OES that they hope to have power restored to the majority of customers by midnight on Tuesday. Other customers in harder to reach locations may not have power restored until the end of the week.

Of course, the power would be off during the longest stretch of severely hot weather in recent memory. While everyone was sweltering in the intense heat and humidity, power crews were enduring the temperatures while struggling to restore power under severe conditions.

In some cases, crews had to lug power poles into places where even four-wheel drives could not go. The infrastructure of the power grid in the county has been repaired so many times that entire lengths of line had to be completely replaced. The old lines contained too many splices to make a simple repair possible.

Many transformers in the county also blew up when the power surged as the storm hit. New transformers have been installed where needed.

All three volunteer fire department stations will continue to be manned as long as they have ice and water to hand out and people to man the facility. The fire stations are also still operating as cooling stations for those in need.

OES officials are meeting this week with FEMA emergency teams to assess damage and report back to federal officials.

UPDATE: FRIDAY JULY 13, 2012

The FEMA damage assessment done on Tuesday was for damage to public infrastructure only, not for individual assessment. The Chronicle was advised of this by FEMA on Friday and apologize for any confusion the print edition may have caused for individuals contacting FEMA directly

If you have severe damage from this disaster, take pictures of the damage from several angles to record the damage. As soon as possible, contact your insurance company to see what coverage you have and what your insurance company can do for you. Report all damage to Calhoun Office of Emergency Service. Calhoun OES will compile damage reports from individuals to submit to the governor who will forward the reports to the President for consideration for a disaster declaration making individuals eligible for assistance.