Progress was still being made in Altus Saturday to completely restore power to all residents after the storm that moved through the area Thursday blanked out power to the entire city.

As of Saturday morning, 70 percent of the service in the city has been restored, according to Altus Power.

Those without power are being helped at the Community Center at 401 Falcon Road. Over 200 meals were served Friday night and 15 people stayed at the shelter overnight to stay cool.

"Every department meeting we have had through the day, progress is noted," said Altus Emergency Management director Lloyd Colston. "Our white board does not have the same problems today we had yesterday. The white board problems tomorrow will be different."

Early projections on the cost of this disaster are $20 million, of which at least $11.5 comes from the City of Altus. These figures d not include the City's infrastructure damage.

Currently the damage assessment continues. As a guess, assuming $50K per home and nine homes would equal $450K.

“I expect the damage assessment for utilities alone to be enough to qualify for a damage assessment.”

The Emergency Operations Center is staffed by mostly volunteers who assist. Over 20 volunteers, including American Red Cross, Salvation Army and the Baptist Disaster Relief have contributed over 1,000 hours of service to their community.

Colson asks that citizens NOT call 211 to report power being out.

"The City is aware of who is out and who is not," said Colston.

Call 211 for specific non-emergent needs. Call the 580-481-2240 to report power disruptions.

Citizen are also reminded that power can not be restored to service that is damaged. Citizens are reponsible for obtaining the services of a licensed electrician to make repairs to private property.

While the City works hard to serve their citizens by quickly and efficiently restoring power, Colson encourages all to check the condition of their service to homes and businesses.

If there is damage to the meter box, service mast, or weather head, the City cannot provide electric power to the customer.

If there is damage, do not attempt to repair the service yourself. Consult with licensed electrician. The City can not recommend a vendor. Citizens may call the Planning Department to determine if a vendor is licensed.

Disaster crews continue to work in Altus to restore power and other essential services to the citizens of Altus.

No fatalities have been reported to the Emergency Operations Center from the storm, and only one injury has been reported since the storm.

Preliminary damage assessments show 179 homes were damaged by the storm. Of those, 2 homes were destroyed, 5 sustained major damage, 43 minor damage and 129 were affected. Additionally, 17 businesses were damaged, including two that were destroyed, four that had major damage, eight with minor damage and three that wer affected.