Manhole Explosions Cut Power To Section Of Salem's Downtown

SALEM (CBS) --- Manhole explosions have cut power to several streets around Salem's downtown.

Salem Police say the explosions happened on Central Street around 3 p.m. No injuries have been reported.

National Grid is reporting 311 customers are without power.

Charter, Front, Central and Lafayette streets are all closed to vehicles and pedestrians as National Grid works to fix the problem. Lafayette is closed from Derby Street To Front Street.

Several downtown businesses have posted on their Facebook pages to say they are closing early due to the outage.

The city alerted residents of the problem via their reverse 911 system.

There's no word on what caused the problem. National Grid says power is expected to be restored by 8 p.m.

Manhole Explosion