Some 8,500 electric customers in Arkansas in dark (UALR Public Radio) - Electric outages from weekend storms are down to about 8,500 among Entergy Arkansas customers. A company spokesman says that at Sunday's peak, 179,000 customers were without power because of high winds, tornadoes and rain from the remnants of Hurricane Ike. The company is 89 percent complete its work to restore service to everyone.

In Hot Springs, 3,000 customers remained in the dark, and Little Rock had 430 customers without electricity.

Meanwhile, the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management
says Texans who fled to Arkansas to escape Ike may be eligible
for assistance to cover hotel costs.

ADEM says the federal program is called the Transitional Sheltering Program, and applies to the period from September 15th through October 15th.

To start the application process, a person must call the hotline for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The number is 1-800-621-3362.

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