RPU workers join hurricane restoration efforts in Florida
A convoy of lineworker crews from Rochester Public Utilities and fifteen other Minnesota municipal utilities has arrived in Florida.
Crews are now awaiting assessments on the damage from Hurricane Dorian, which is now making its way toward the U.S. mainland. The storm, as of this writing, has been downgraded to a Category 2 hurricane; though storm surge warnings remain posted all the way to North Carolina.
[You can follow live updates from the storm here.]
In a powerful display of unity, the convoy of Minnesota workers departed from Rochester on Saturday. On Monday, they arrived in Kissimmee, Florida, where they have begun preparing for restoration efforts.
The 42 crew members — five of whom are from RPU — are expected to remain in Florida for up to two weeks assisting in restoration efforts.
Meantime, in the Bahamas, where Hurricane Dorian left a trail of destruction in recent days, the U.S deployed a disaster response team to the islands hit hardest by the storm. At the time Dorian hit the Bahamas, it had been among the most powerful Atlantic storms ever to reach land.
Cover photo courtesy the Kissimmee Utility Authority
