Omaha Public Power District estimates it will cost about $10 million to repair the damage to the power system caused by last Friday's strong winds.

More than 500 people are now working around the clock to restore power, with crews from as far away as Kansas City in Omaha to help.

About 15,000 customers remained without power as of Monday night, down from the 126,000 who initially lost power late Friday afternoon when the storm hit.

Dennis and Jo Ann Couch have been waiting near 132nd and Maple since Friday. Dennis worked at OPPD for 40 years before retiring and he knew the storm would be a bad one. "It’s the worse I've seen as far as wind damage and stuff."

From their back porch, Dennis and his wife can see trees and lines down and homes damaged. "This in my opinion is worse than a tornado. A tornado can cause more deaths, but a tornado gives you a path. This hit all over the place and widespread damage really bad."

“We gave all our meat and food away to a grandson who still has power,” says Jo Ann. “We have to eat out every meal, otherwise as long as it doesn't get real hot we'll be able to cope."

According to OPPD officials, the Couch family might have to cope for a few more days. The storm did cause widespread damage and the utility continues to go through its restoration plan.

"Where we look for is on restoring customers on where we can get the most customers off of one circuit, we look for when we can get the most people back and prioritize,” says OPPD’s Gary Gates. “Toward the end will be individual customers where a branch has gone thru the line in your house."

OPPD says it could be as late as Saturday before all the lights are back on and that statement of course depends on how the weather runs the rest of the week. To get ready for your power to return, remember to turn everything in your house off, especially all kitchen appliances.

"This stuff's all melted,” said Brian Sivinski at 135th and Castelar. "Three blocks away, some neighbors of our's who have power are babysitting the rest of our food."

Neighbors say the only thing preventing the cold from coming back to their refrigerators is a tree branch on a power line. "When the tree trimmers were out here they could have cut this down,” says Paul Latenser. “They cut this one, but they wouldn't cut this one down because they couldn't get access to his property because he wasn't home."

Neighbors say that homeowner is the one who called in the problem in the first place. "They put us on a list even though we had been on a list,” says Bill Barna.

Anne Hubbard's mother needs a generator to keep the lights and refrigerator on. Her concern at 116th and Pacific is more of a medical one. "Everyone in this area is in their eighties. The trees are old and they all have health issues so it's a real hardship."

The National Weather Service estimates the winds Friday afternoon reached 115 mph without spawning a tornado. The winds were likely at their strongest when the storm was between Fremont and Omaha. They slowed before hitting Omaha, but remained between 70-90 mph.

In addition to snapping power poles, the storm ripped off roofs, shattered windows uprooted trees. The National Weather Service estimates damage could reach into the millions.

If you need to report an outage, call 1-800-554-OPPD. Click here to view maps of areas still without power.

OPPD crews have received assistance from the Nebraska Public Power District, Loup Public Power District, Lincoln Electric System, Nebraska City Utilities, Kansas City Power and Light, and L.E. Meyers, a private contractor.

"We brought 22 line technicians in from three areas, York, Nebraska, South Sioux City and Norfolk," said Mark Damon with the Nebraska Public Power District.

The Douglas County Health Department has some food safety recommendations for residents who have been without power since the storm hit.

Frozen food can be expected to remain safe for up to 48 hours if your freezer is full and has not been opened. If your freezer is half full, the food should be safe for up to 24 hours if the freezer has not been opened.

Anything perishable that has been in your refrigerator for at least two hours after the power has gone out should be put on ice and placed in a container.

If you have a problem and need additional information, call the Douglas County Health Department at (402) 669-8485.

Any restaurants with food safety questions are asked to call the Douglas County Health Department at (402) 669-8492.

Another rule to remember is it’s always best to play it safe, so when in doubt throw it out.

The Red Cross and Salvation Army continue to make the rounds, feeding those working in the hardest hit areas. The Red Cross is also keeping its shelters open at Fremont High School and the Ralston Fire Station at 7629 Park Drive. Call 343-7700 for information.

Omaha's plan for curbside pickup will be determined “as soon as possible." The city has the following drop-off sites for tree debris at: