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Storm deaths rise to 13, some still without power

Posted at 5:05 PM, Jul 05, 2012
and last updated 2012-07-05 17:05:55-04

RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) – Governor Bob McDonnell said another person has died in connection to last weekend’s powerful storms that downed trees and knocked out power to millions across the state.

McDonnell said another storm-related death happened in Fairfax County.

As of Thursday, 13 people had died in connection with the severe weather.

  • Two deaths in Albemarle County
  • Two deaths in Bedford County
  • One death in Chesapeake
  • Four deaths in Fairfax County
  • One death in Loudoun County 
  • One death in Montgomery County
  • One death in Richmond
  • One death in Roanoke

There have also been six heat-related deaths in the state since June 20.

Gov. McDonnell said Thursday that there are still 95,000 customers without power in the Commonwealth.  That’s down from 1.2 million during the height of the storm-related outages.  

Dominion Virginia Power reports that 95 percent of its customers are back online. Around 1,000 Dominion customers are still without power in Richmond and the Tri-Cities area.  [BONUS: Meet the photographer behind viral storm photo]

Power companies stressed that it may take until rest of this week and into the weekend to get everyone back online.

McDonnell said reaching the milestone of less than 100,000 customers without power speaks volumes to the dedication of power crews in Virginia and those from other states.

“Unfortunately, this progress is also tempered with sadness as an additional fatality in Fairfax County has brought the storm’s death toll to 13,” said McDonnell. 

The strong winds toppled trees and downed power lines across the state, first on Friday, and then on Saturday.

In fact, the National Weather Service confirmed an EF-0 tornado touched down near Mechanicsville Saturday. [RELATED: Mechanicsville tornado with 7.4 mile path confirmed]

Extreme temperatures forced many localities across the state to open cooling shelters earlier this week.

Stay with CBS 6 News and WTVR.com for the most complete coverage, before, during and after the storms.

COMPLETE COVERAGE: Deadly storms slam Virginia, knock out power to millions