AEP begins restoring power to those affected by Helene

AEP field staff and service teams are working to restore power to customers affected by Helene's persistent wind and rain, the utility said Friday.

More than 65,000 AEP customers in Ohio were without power just before 9 p.m., according to the AEP outage map, with nearly 10,000 of them in Franklin County. Field crews from more than 40 centers responded and assessed Helene's damage and made repairs, AEP said.

AEP also warned that the storm is still raging across the state, so the possibility of further outages remains. Recovery times will be available on the AEP outage website.

Other Ohio utilities are also reporting thousands of customers without power. The most severe outages are in central, southern and southwestern Ohio, where Helene's remnants struck first as they moved from south to north.

AEP said its crews deployed to West Virginia and Virginia would be in Ohio Saturday morning to help restore power.

The National Weather Service has lifted its high wind warning for all counties. They also reported on their X page that the wind speed decreased throughout the evening.

However, the wind-blown rain created a heavy afternoon rush and likely contributed to some of the many minor accidents in the Columbus area. Downed trees and power lines were reported in the area, including near Grove City in southwest Franklin County.

The Chillicothe area of Ross County and the Waverly area of Pike County experienced sustained heavy rainfall, with a total of more than 4 inches.

As USA Today previously reported, post-tropical cyclone Helene made landfall in Florida late Thursday evening as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 140 miles per hour. Dozens of storm-related deaths as well as significant damage to homes and businesses and severe flooding were reported in several states in the southeastern United States.

More: Thanks to Helene, a strong wind warning is in effect for the Cincinnati area. How to protect yourself

How to check power outages in Columbus

If you live in the City of Columbus, the Columbus Division of Power has a real-time outage map that you can review on their website. You can also call the department at (614) 645-7627.

American Electric Power customers can find outage information on the online map. According to AEP's website, the company can also be contacted at 1-800-672-2231 to check outage status or report an outage.

Dispatch reporters Bethany Bruner and Shahid Meighan contributed to this report.

This story is ongoing and will be updated.

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How to check power outages in Columbus

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