American Red Cross offers advice for staying prepared for power outages

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- At its peak, more than 90,000 Dominion Energy customers in Central Virginia sat in the dark after Sunday's severe weather knocked out lines, littered roads and diverted at least one plane from landing at Richmond International Airport.

The storms on Sunday, July 27 proved to be dangerous as 8News received reports of debris down in the West End, off Ashland Road near Route 33, in Mechanicsville and near Kings Dominion.

That's why the American Red Cross is recommending everyone to stay prepared with the looming possibility of more storms coming our way toward the weekend.

To stay prepared for a power outage, the American Red Cross recommends having a cooler on hand to keep perishables cold, keeping a thermometer handy to check the internal temperatures of food and keeping a flashlight available, but not candles due to fire risks.

Supplying one gallon of water per person per day is also recommended for staying hydrated, especially since our StormTracker8 team is saying heat and humidity will stick around for a couple more days.

When it comes to food, once the power is turned back on, consider throwing anything that's been sitting in temperatures higher than 40 degrees Fahrenheit for two hours or more.

RELATED: Over 24K Central Virginia homes and businesses remain without power after severe weather

Crews have been working around the clock on Monday, July 28, to restore power to those who lost it during the storms.