RAYMOND, N.H. (AP) – Telephone services has been restored to most of the thousands of Verizon customers who lost service when the company’s central switching station flooded.
As of Monday morning, about 1,500 lines served by the Raymond center remained out of service, down from 4,000 after the April 16 storm. Customers in Epping and Northwood who had been able only to call within their own exchanges now have full service again, though customers in Candia and Deerfield still have limited calling.
A spokewoman for the company said crews have been working around the clock and made significant progress during the weekend.
“But we won’t rest until all of our customers have their voice and data service back to normal,” said Ellen Corcoran, general manager for Verizon New England Inc.
During the weekend, dozens of Verizon managers and workers went door-to-door in Raymond and Epping to offer 300 free cell phones with 30 prepaid minutes so customers could make emergency calls. Those who weren’t home were able to pick up phones at the Raymond Town Hall.
The company is giving all its landline customers in Raymond a $25 credit on their monthly bills and call-forwarding service is being offered to customers in all areas served by the Raymond office.
More than 400 roads were closed and 6,000 residents were evacuated.
at the height of the flooding April 16 and 17. Electric utilities reported that 90,000 customers lost power statewide, and many schools were closed for days.
Gov. John Lynch, who has asked the federal government to declare the entire state a disaster area so it will qualify for federal aid, estimated the damage at more than $36 million.
AP-ES-04-23-07 1616EDT
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