165 Brick Store Landing Road

Smyrna, DE 19977

302-659-DEMA (3362) or 1-877-SAY DEMA

FAX 302-659-6853

NEWS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

Date: Saturday, September 02, 2006 CONTACT: Rosanne Pack

Time: 1:30 p.m. (302) 659-2210

(302) 222-6573

STATE CLEANS UP AS ERNESTO EXITS

Storm leaves power outages, downed trees behind

As the remnants of Tropical Storm Ernesto leaves Delaware, emergency management agencies and responders throughout the state are relieved to have no fatalities or injuries reported and fewer cases of property damage than experienced in neighboring states.

There were some roads flooded to the point of closure, primarily in Sussex County, but there were no requests for assistance or evacuation by residents. It was not necessary to open any shelters at any location in the state.

In Sussex, fire service personnel maintained observation of flooded roadways to ensure that no motorists were stranded and no homeowners required assistance. The Delaware National Guard pre-positioned high water vehicles to assist should evacuations be needed, but there were no requests.

The storm did linger over the state longer than predicted and Sussex County had high winds and steady rains through the night and into daylight hours of Saturday. The primary inconvenience to Delaware citizens remains the number of customers who lost power as the combination of winds and water soaked soil caused numerous trees to fall across power lines.

Both Delmarva Power and the Delaware Electric Cooperative have crews working in all service areas. At 8 a.m., Saturday, Delmarva Power was showing 17,202 customers with no electric; at noon, that number was reduced to 8,605. The utility estimates full power restoration by Sunday afternoon.

The Co-op had approximately 1,800 customers to restore power to by noon Saturday.

The Delaware Emergency Management Agency will suspend operations mid-afternoon Saturday. Sussex County and Kent County agencies closed down emergency operations centers Friday night, but staff remained on stand-by through the night.

New Castle County Office of Emergency Preparedness will continue to monitor the northern coastal areas for flooding through the evening high tide at approximately 7 p.m. The City of Wilmington Office of Emergency Management is monitoring the Christina and Brandywine rivers through the 8 p.m. high tide. No significant flooding is anticipated, but county and city officials will continue observations until the tide cycle is complete.

By Saturday afternoon, roads that were impassable because of standing water were open, but Delaware Department of Transportation is still working to clear downed trees that have blocked some roads.

Sussex County received the heaviest rainfall with four to five inches registered in most areas. Kent County showed less with measurements ranging from one to two inches. As rain tapered in New Castle County, estimated totals were one to one and one half inches.

According to DEMA Director Jamie Turner, after the weekend and once conditions are safe throughout the state, the state agency will be working with the counties and the City of Wilmington to determine the extent of damages and assess the potential for applying for federal assistance. He expressed praise and gratitude for all local and state agencies and organizations that worked through the storm in order to maintain public safety.

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