Sammamish Residents Battle Power Outages After Bomb Cyclone
In Sammamish, frustration and determination mingle as residents cope with the aftereffects of a powerful storm that disrupted daily life. Abhijit Sarkar, a local resident, found himself without electricity since **9 p.m. Tuesday** and had had enough. After two days of surviving on bread and fruit, he decided it was time for a change of scenery. Sarkar booked an Airbnb and went out in search of a hot meal, hoping to reclaim at least a piece of normalcy amid the chaos.
As he made his way out of his high-rise, Sarkar encountered neighbors in a similar predicament, all scrambling to seek refuge with loved ones who had a generator. “It’s been rough,” he explained, expressing a collective sentiment shared by many in the area.
Power Struggles in the Face of Nature’s Wrath
Sarkar is one of the hundreds of thousands who are still coping without power after a bomb cyclone wreaked havoc in Western Washington on Tuesday. As residents pick up the pieces from one storm, another one looms on the horizon, threatening to bring more trouble on Friday. “We have actually kind of a … forest in front of our apartment,” he shared. “So I hope that we don’t get any downed trees or anything.”
Thursday offered a brief reprieve from the chaotic weather, providing drizzly, cool conditions typical of the region at this time of year. It allowed utility crews and residents the chance to regroup as they worked to restore power. Residents took to cleaning up their yards, removing branches and fallen leaves, while many also ventured into places like city-halls-turned-warming-centers and bustling coffee shops to charge their cellphones and notify loved ones of their statuses.
The Situation on the Ground
However, the remnants of Tuesday’s storm are still evident in many neighborhoods. Over 212,000 customers in the region were still without power come Thursday evening. Following the devastating bomb cyclone, utility provider Puget Sound Energy reported that more than 17,000 customers from Snohomish County and around 4,500 Seattle City Light customers also faced outages. While some areas could expect power restoration by midnight Thursday, others had to brace themselves as they were projected to wait until Friday evening for their electricity to be turned back on.
The impact of this storm didn’t just stop at power outages. Schools, businesses, healthcare facilities, and local libraries all faced closures, leaving residents in a bind. Some even found themselves sheltering in place amid numerous downed power lines, fallen trees, and general debris that made it unsafe to travel, especially in Mercer Island.
A Storm Comparable to a Hurricane
According to Puget Sound Energy spokesperson Melanie Coon, the sheer strength of Tuesday’s storm was “comparable to a hurricane.” King County’s Eastside was particularly hard-hit, with damage levels previously unseen, making repairs to high-voltage transmission systems a tall task.
Despite the challenges, crews worked tirelessly, restoring power for an average of **5,300 customers each hour** throughout the service area, with over **315,000 people** regaining electricity by Thursday morning. However, local hospitals were bustling with injuries — from cuts and broken bones from tumbling branches to medical emergencies stemming from power outages. People were coming in needing treatment for reasons as serious as carbon monoxide poisoning from bringing outdoor heat sources indoors. “This is stuff that’s supposed to be used outside,” warned Dr. Arvin Akhavan of Harborview Medical Center, laying bare the potential dangers.
A Glimmer of Hope Amidst the Struggle
Sadly, the storm left behind a tragic toll, taking the lives of at least two individuals — a reminder of the storm’s severity. The National Weather Service suggests that while the impacts of the incoming Friday storm shouldn’t reach the same catastrophic levels, wind speeds could rise above **30 mph** along the coast, prompting a wind advisory until **10 a.m. Friday**.
Looking ahead, with the soil saturated from the prior storm, there’s always the concern that more trees could come crashing down. For now, local residents are doing their best to prepare, stocking up on essentials like flashlights and medicine, and being proactive about their safety and plans.
