No injuries have been reported from Thursday's late-afternoon storms. More than 25,000 homes and businesses across the Southern Tear are without power Friday morning, most of them New York State Electric & Gas in the Elmira area.
Residents work to clear tree branches off Wall Street in West Elmira, N.Y. after a severe thunderstorm swept through the area., Thursday, July 26, 2012. Buildings were damaged, power lines and trees toppled, and hospitals placed on disaster status after a possible tornado hit the city of Elmira Thursday afternoon, Chemung County Office of Fire and Emergency Management Director Michael Smith said. (AP Photo/The Leader, Eric Wensel)ELMIRA, N.Y. — A state of emergency and curfew remains in effect in Elmira as crews continue clearing trees and repairing power lines that were brought down by a possible tornado.
No injuries have been reported from Thursday's late-afternoon storms. More than 25,000 homes and businesses across the Southern Tear are without power Friday morning, most of them New York State Electric & Gas in the Elmira area.
Driving in Elmira is banned until 8 a.m. Friday.
About 60,000 outages remain from Elmira east to the lower Hudson Valley. Most of the Con Ed and LIPA customers who lost power have had it restored.
The storm is blamed for killing a 61-year-old man who was struck by collapsing scaffolding outside a Brooklyn church. Police say lighting brought down bricks onto the scaffolding.