RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) - A twelfth death is now being blamed on the June 29 storm that tore across Virginia and knocked out power to more than one million people.
The most recent victim was from Henrico County, according to Laura Southard with the Virginia Department of Emergency Management. Southard said the person was hit by a falling tree on Monday, July 2. That person died from the injuries the next day.
The victim's older brother tells CBS 6 News' Angela Pellerano that 32 year-old Robert Shane Wade was killed Monday as he was helping take down a tree with a friend.
The other storm fatalities included deaths in Albemarle County, Bedford County, Chesapeake, Fairfax County, Loudoun County, Montgomery County and Roanoke.
The Governor's Office said Wednesday afternoon that 176,928 power customers remained without electricity, nearly 60,000 less than at 5:00 p.m. the previous evening. Dominion, the Governor's Office noted, expected to have the "vast majority" of customers back on line by Friday night.
“I am pleased that more and more homes are coming back on line, and I am encouraged that the power companies continue to work around the clock on the problem areas, but the high heat in Virginia is a serious ongoing safety concern. The recovery effort is continuing 24 hours a day and we are all focused on getting power restored as quickly as is possible in every community in the state,” said Governor McDonnell in a statement. “As everyone continues to work together to get things back to normal, please look out for your friends and neighbors that are still without power and may need a place to cool off.”
Others notes from the Governor's Wednesday afternoon update include:
- The Virginia Emergency Operations Center continues to be staffed with representatives of various state agencies who are coordinating requests for assistance from local governments and providing resources as needed.
- The Virginia Department of Emergency Management has coordinated delivery of 64,400 gallons of water to Charlottesville and the counties of Albemarle, Alleghany, Bath, Bedford, Botetourt and Page.
- Fourteen generators have been delivered to Bath, Botetourt, Highland and Rockingham counties and the town of Vinton and city of Covington.
- Heavy equipment has been provided to Albemarle County and Charlottesville, and advanced life support ambulances from Halifax and Chesterfield counties have been provided to Alexandria.
- VDEM set up a blog to record agency response, track the opening of cooling centers and provide information to the public at www.virginiaderecho.tumblr.com
- The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) reported seven primary roads (numbers 1-599) and 101 secondary roads (numbers 600 and above) closed due to downed trees and debris.
