Thousands without power as effects of superstorm Sandy drench northeast Ohio

CLEVELAND - Power crews began working on restoring power to thousands of customer on Tuesday.

The high winds and difficult conditions made work slow for crews.

FirstEnergy said most of the work is being done in Cuyahoga County. Between The Illuminating Company and Ohio Edison, more than 237,000 customers remain without power, with more than 159,400 just in Cuyahoga County.

A representative said about one out of every three homes in the county is without power. That’s 33 percent.

It could be Friday or the weekend before all power is restored.

FirstEnergy said hospitals and police departments are the first to get back online. Then in areas where there are the biggest outages and target large groups. Individual homes are the last to get restored.

AEP Ohio reported around 6,000 interruptions in the Canton area and central Ohio.

FirstEnergy urges customers without power to call 1-888-544-4877. If you have storm damage pictures, you can send them to us here: http://5.wews.com/eSh1w

To see FirstEnergy's outage map: http://5.wews.com/eSfkG
For the latest local traffic delays and closures: http://5.wews.com/eSfq6
For RTA route information: http://5.wews.com/eSfti

-----

Know of any storm damage? Post it in the comment box below.