Thousands Still Without Power From Last Week's Storms

Who would have thought a half dozen lines of thunderstorms rolling across Michigan would have left such a mess? Last week’s series of big storms that pounded the southern lower peninsula however ranks among the top 10 worst storm events in the history of Consumers Energy and predecessor Consumers Power. Same with DTE Energy which had even more homes and businesses left without power.

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By mid-day yesterday, Consumers crews and help from utilities from other states had more than 320,000 customers back on the grid. But still – another 50 thousand or so had not been re-connected. Overnight, another 20,000 or so were back on the Consumers Energy grid, leaving about 28,000 remaining without service. That’s a long haul considering the first power outages began Late last Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. DTE this morning still has over 40,000 customers without service this morning. Indiana Michigan which serves the far Southwest corner of the state only has a handful without service today.

Consumers is trying to make things a little easier for folks with offerings of free admission to Binder Park zoo, free lunches in several communities, and even free ice cream. Most Consumers line crews have been working 16-hour shifts since this all started in the middle of last week.

LOOK: The most expensive weather and climate disasters in recent decades

Stacker ranked the most expensive climate disasters by the billions since 1980 by the total cost of all damages, adjusted for inflation, based on 2021 data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The list starts with Hurricane Sally, which caused $7.3 billion in damages in 2020, and ends with a devastating 2005 hurricane that caused $170 billion in damage and killed at least 1,833 people. Keep reading to discover the 50 of the most expensive climate disasters in recent decades in the U.S.