Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Suffolk Police and Suffolk Fire & Rescue remind citizens to exercise extreme caution when performing damage assessments today in the aftermath of Hurricane Isaias.

Weather conditions are improving with winds and rain diminishing over the course of the day.

Suffolk was impacted by two separate possible tornado events with damage in the area from White Marsh Road to the King’s Fork area, with the neighborhoods of Riverview and Hall Place, as well as Downtown Suffolk along West Washington Street and Saratoga Street, sustaining damage from downed trees and heavy winds.

Only one minor storm-related injury has been reported.

Damage assessment teams will be out in the community this morning and throughout the afternoon focusing on private property damage. Citizens are asked to immediately contact the Emergency Operations Center at 514-4570 to advise of any damage to private property. Calls will be taken until 5:00 p.m. today, and call takers will be available Wednesday morning beginning at 8:30 a.m.

Public safety officials remind citizens to exercise extreme caution when conducting damage assessments and to report any downed power lines by calling 911. If a power line is down, stay at least 30 feet away and always consider them energized and dangerous, even if you do not see sparks or hear the lines snapping. At the time of this Media Release, Dominion Power is reporting over 21,000 outages in Suffolk, which is approximately 83% of the customers in Suffolk. Community Electric is reporting approximately 2200 customers without power, or approximately 67% of their customers in Suffolk.

Multiple roadways are still affected with downed trees and power lines. Major problem areas include Turlington Road, Bennetts Pasture Road, Route 58 Eastbound at Wilroy Road, a portion of Route 58 Westbound, the 4700 block of Whaleyville Boulevard, and the 5500 block of Godwin Boulevard. Public Works crews remain working in these affected areas. Public safety officials ask that people stay off of the affected roadways and out of damaged neighborhoods so that damage assessments can be conducted. To report a non-emergency roadway-related issue, call 514-7600. The Suffolk Police Department non-emergency number is 923-2350.

The Emergency Operations Call Center can be reached at 514-4570 and remains staffed for citizens to report private property damage and for those seeking storm-related information for this weather event. The Suffolk Police Department non-emergency number is 923-2350, and the number for non-emergency roadway-related issues is 514-7600.

The City of Suffolk website homepage has a convenient link to access additional storm and safety information at www.suffolkva.us/HurricaneIsaias.