Newark is experiencing power outages, but it's unclear if recent storms are the cause of the blackout.
Portions of west and downtown Newark began experiencing the outages at 2:51 p.m, according to AEP Ohio. There are more than 3,100 outages in Newark as of that time, the utility company's website states.
Licking County EMA Director Sean Grady told The Advocate he doesn't suspect the outages in Newark are weather related. Severe storms moved through the central Ohio area, causing some tree damage and outages in Licking County.
AEP estimates restoring power in the Newark area just before 6 p.m., according to its website.
"This was not a planned outage, but we do not know the exact cause at this time," an AEP Ohio spokesperson said. "Our crews are working as quickly as safely possible to get the lights back on."
The map also shows there had been more than 1,500 outages in the Hebron area as of 4 p.m. The company said some of those are weather related.
Licking County saw some rain Aug. 16 during the storm, but not enough to cause severe flooding. Some additional rain Aug. 17 pushed gauges to minor flooding levels.
Grady said some residents reported seeing extensive water in the Greenbriar Village Mobile Home Park in Hebron, as well as north of Buckeye Lake around Interstate-70. There was also some tree damage in Pataskala, Grady said.
AEP Ohio customers can receive email and text updates for outages by enrolling at aepohio.com/alerts.
Advocate reporter Josué Perez can be reached at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: About 3,100 without electricity in Newark as AEP works to restore power