In the wake of last Tuesday’s intense early-morning storm, the city has announced guidelines for disposing of debris and is asking residents and businesses to provide information regarding property damage for possible federal disaster aid.

It took several days for the full restoration of power following the storm, with approximately 25,000 customers in the city affected at the height of the outages. 

The physical signs of its impact – including downed trees and damaged homes – are still visible in many areas.

Mayor Allan Fung in a statement last week asked the public to be patient during the cleanup.

“Our public works crews are all assigned to post-storm clean up throughout the city. Their priority is to get sidewalks and roadways cleared and passable,” the statement reads.

The mayor indicated city public works crews were working with an outside contractor and National Grid to clear downed trees from roads and driveways. 

Downed wires, he said, complicated the process throughout.

Residents are asked to bundle any debris they can into four-foot sections, to be placed curbside for pickup, as is typically done with yard waste. Larger limbs may also be placed curbside to await public works crews. No trash or furniture will be picked up as part of the debris pickup process, and storm debris may remain curbside for several weeks.

Fung in his statement also thanks the town of Johnston for providing a wood chipper, two trucks and four laborers to aid in the cleanup.

“Their crew will help our crews get to more residents faster and efficiently,” Fung states. “This cooperation between our communities is a prime example of what we can accomplish when we work together for the best interest of our residents.”

Additionally, the Cranston Emergency Management Agency is collecting information regarding losses from the storm ahead of possible qualification for federal disaster aid.

Formers are available at the city’s website, cranstonri.com, and at the Cranston Fire Department headquarters at 301 Pontiac Ave. between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Warwick and Cranston were particularly hard-hit by the storm, which descended on the area at approximately 6 a.m. on Aug. 4 with lightening, torrential rain and strong winds. Flooding, downed branches, trees and power lines, and damaged property were common sights across both cities.

According to Alan Dunham, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in the Taunton, Mass., office, the damage was caused by unusually severe thunderstorms.

“The storm caused straight-line wind damage in the area. We’re calling the Rhode Island event a macroburst,” he said.

Thunderstorms can produce intense downdrafts that will create destructive winds on the ground. Cold air descends from the middle and upper levels of a storm, and as the air strikes the ground it begins to roll and is compressed, causing wind speeds to increase dramatically. These winds may be more powerful than a tornado, but the difference between the two is that wind flows into a tornado and out from a downburst.

Debris is usually lain out in straight lines, parallel to the outward wind flow. Depending on their size, these drafts may be referred to as microbursts or macrobursts. A macroburst is typically more than 2.5 miles in diameter and can produce winds as high as 165 miles per hour, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Tim Forsberg contributed to this report.