PITTSBURGH —

Tuesday evening’s storm left a wake of destruction in the Pittsburgh area. Large oak trees toppled from the strength of the winds and roofs were torn off of buildings.

Duquesne Light said restoration across the area could take five to seven days, calling the event “unprecedented.”

1:20 p.m.

Tuesday marked one of the highest call volume days for 911 in Allegheny County. Officials said there were 5,600 calls from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. to 911.

That number is five times greater than the normal hour and two times greater than a normal day.

1 p.m.

Allegheny County officials gave an update on storm damage and power restorations .

County Executive Sara Innamorato, County Manager John Fournier, ACES Chief Matthew Brown, Director of Public Works Stephen Shanley spoke about the efforts.

Innnamorato confirmed two people in the county were killed, including Raymond Gordon who was hit by a tree while heading into his home in Ross Township.

John Hilderbrand II, Vice President of Operations at Duquesne Light, spoke once again following his update in Pittsburgh. Hilderbrand countinues to urge people to stay away from downed lines.

“I expect that it won’t be fully assessed until tomorrow,” Hilderbrand said about the outages across Western Pennsylvania.

With additional weather expected on Thursday, Hilderbrand said his restoration estimate of five to seven days may be extended.

A Tragic Accident’ 3rd Person Confirmed Dead after Storm

Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 has learned a third person has died following the strong storms that blew through Western Pennsylvania Tuesday.

According to authorities, Raymond Gordon, 67, was working outside and walking back into his house when he was hit by a tree.

The Ross Township Police Department said the tree toppled because of the storm that brought intense winds and heavy rain.

Gordon was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police say there is no evidence to support that Gordon’s death is anything other than a tragic accident.

11:55 a.m.

Here is PennDOT’s updated list of road closures and restrictions for state roads in Allegheny County:

• Route 910 between Dickey Road and Meridian Road in Richland Township
• Saxonburg Boulevard restricted between Alpine Village Drive and Campbell Road in Indiana Township
• Allegheny River Boulevard between Center Avenue and Plum Street in Oakmont and Verona
• Allegheny River Boulevard between Sandy Creek Road and James Street in Penn Hills and Verona
• Hunter Road between Colorado Street and Plum Street in Penn Hills
• Hulton Road between Allegheny Avenue and 5th Street in Oakmont
• Boyds Run Road between Hilltop Road and Thoms Run Road in Collier Township
• Noblestown Road between Sunnyside Avenue and Walkers Mill Road in Collier Township
• Dorrington Road between Hilltop Road and Noblestown Road in Collier Township
• Sample Road between Bryant Road and Hemlock Drive in Hampton Township
• Wildwood Sample Road between Sample Road and Wildwood Road in Hampton Township
• Wildwood Road between Hardt Road and Wildwood Sample Road in Hampton Township
• Highland Park Bridge sidewalk between Route 8 (Washington Boulevard) and Route 28

11 a.m.

Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey is asking everyone in the city who can stay home, to do so as cleanup around the city continues.

Gainey noted an additional 400 crews are being called in to aid Duquesne Light in restoring power.

There are currently 70 resources that have already been onboarded to help with restoration.

Duquesne Light called the magnitude of storm damage ‘unprecedented.’ The company does not have a full assessment at this time, and may not have one until Thursday morning.

Estimated times of restoration will come down at the county-level and move down to individual areas as it becomes available.

John Hilderbrand II, Vice President of Operations at Duquesne Light, said they are expecting five to seven days of restoration.

“I’ve been in the utility business for 40 years. This is, one of the top three events in my 40 year history.”

According to Public Works, there are 180 downed trees across Pittsburgh. Officials are reminding residents to not drive around barricades.

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Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 has learned the passenger of a car died during Tuesday’s storms after a tree toppled onto it in Greene County.

Pennsylvania State Police say the driver was heading west on Jefferson Road, around 150 feet from the intersection of Valley Farm Drive when the tree fell.

According to troopers, the tree fell across the road from the northern embankment, hitting the top of the car.

Andrew Celaschi, 25, was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver was not injured.

Click here for more information.

9 a.m. update:

Todd Meyers from West Penn Power says 155,000 of their customers are still without power.

“This is going to be marathon, not a sprint. There is a lot of damage and it will take a lot of time to fix,” Meyers told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4.

He did not offer a timeline on that power recovery.

8 a.m. update

Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey will be joined by the Department of Public Safety, the Department of Public Works and Duquesne Light to give an update on the response to Tuesday’s storm.

Officials are expected to give an update on recovery efforts as well as provide safety information and available resources for affected residents.

Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 will bring you the press conference live in the video player above when it becomes available at 10:15 a.m.

At one point, over 500,000 people were left without power after the powerful storms swept through various parts of western Pennsylvania.

As of 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, Duquesne Light reported over 240,000 customers remained without power.

On its website, the company said, “crews are working to safely assess damage due to severe weather that has moved through the area on April 29th. Once that is complete, more  information will become available, including estimated times of restoration.”

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To check the status of restoration from Duquesne Light and to report an outage, visit: Outage Map

To check the status of restoration from West Penn Power and to report an outage, visit: FirstEnergy Storm Center PA

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Multiple Allegheny County parks are closed or impacted as the cleanup continues. The county is asking those who use the parks to be cautious of any downed tree lines or powerlines.

If you see a downed power line, report it to 911. For all non-emergency issues including downed trees, call the Allegheny County Call Center at 412-350-INFO.

ALLEGHENY COUNTY PARK IMPACTS:

• North Park: Facilities, shelters are without power, park remains open.
• Hartwood Acres: Closed due to down trees blocking roads and power loss.
• Harrison Hills: Closed due to down trees blocking roads.

Follow the latest in road closures by clicking here.

MAN ELECTROCUTED BY LIVE WIRES

Pittsburgh Public Safety reported Tuesday evening a man was killed after being electrocuted by live wires in the city’s South Side Slopes neighborhood.

Crews were called to the 1000 block of St. Martin Street after the storm blew through the area.

The man, whose identity has not been released, was pronounced dead at the scene.

“I just saw this roof just flying, I thought it was actually the front of the building,” said Perry Sigesmund.

Sigesmund and his wife Lora Sigesmund, the owners of PerLora, were inside the furniture store when the roof of the new part of their building was ripped off and blown into the middle of East Carson Street in Pittsburgh’s South Side.

The couple said they let all of their employees go home before the bad weather rolled in, but they decided to ride out the storm.

“I was astounded to see what was going on. There were cars, and I am so thankful and surprised that nobody got hurt. It is a miracle that nobody got hurt with all of this flying debris,” Lora Sigesmund told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4.

The Sigesmunds said there wasn’t any damage on the inside of the store and they planned to reopen on Wednesday.

“No one got hurt, our employees left early. Thank God I told them to get out of here,” Mr. Sigesmund said. “And everybody’s safe. I mean, that’s the ticket.”