NORFOLK, Va. — A third power outage in four days struck central Norfolk on Sunday, Aug. 30, shutting down traffic lights and trapping residents in an elevator at high-rise apartment Hague Towers.
Norfolk 911 dispatch audio captured the moment the outage hit just before 5 p.m., with callers reporting people screaming from inside an elevator stopped on an upper floor of the high-rise.
"People are reporting hearing people screaming that they're stuck in the elevator," a first responder was heard saying.
Within minutes, dispatchers confirmed the scope of the outage extended well beyond the building.
"I'm sure you're already aware, but all the power's out down in the area. Hague Towers and all the road … stoplights out," a caller said.
Traffic signals along Colley Avenue, Fairfax, Olney and Princess Anne also went dark. At its peak, Dominion Energy's outage map showed more than 3,500 customers without power across neighborhoods surrounding downtown Norfolk — from Ghent to Saint Paul's and Huntersville along Church Street.
The Aug. 30 outage was the third to hit the area since Thursday. That outage, which affected mostly downtown Norfolk, left 1,300 customers without power and knocked out traffic signals at heavily trafficked intersections. Then, before sunrise Aug. 28, 4,000 customers around Ghent lost power.
Dominion Energy spokesperson Cherise Newsome said the three outages are not connected.
"The three outages in Norfolk over the last few days are individual incidents. Each one is an example of our safety features operating as designed. Those safety devices in the field sent alerts to our regional operations center indicating there was some sort of issue. This system is designed to pinpoint trouble spots and reroute the flow of power to keep as many customers connected as possible. The outages that did occur lasted two and a half hours or less," Newsome said.
Dominion said the Aug. 27 outage occurred after the system detected a change in electricity flow and paused the current. The Aug. 28 outage was caused by a blown fuse, and the Aug. 30 outage was the result of an equipment failure.
"We understand how important it is for homes and businesses to have the power they need for everyday life," Newsome said. "Whenever there is an outage, our crews work as quickly and as safely as possible to get all the lights back on."
Dominion said its system is prepared to handle high heat forecast for this week. Customers who experience an outage can report it through the Dominion Energy app and receive updates on restoration status.
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