Winter Storm and Recovery Updates for Friday, Feb. 14

Update 5:45 p.m.

Emergency Extended in 15 Counties:  Gov. Deal this afternoon extended the declaration of emergency until Wednesday, Feb. 19, in fifteen counties with extensive storm damage.  The counties are: Baldwin, Burke, Butts, Columbia, Emanuel, Hancock, Jasper, Jefferson, Jones, Johnson, Pike, Richmond, Screven, Taliaferro and Washington.  Officials in Richmond County (Augusta) report they have found at least 200 homes suffering from structural damage after the storm, primarily from falling trees. FEMA inspections of these structures, which have been requested by Gov. Deal, may begin next week.

Update 3:15 p.m.

GEMA Releases Storm Response Statistics:  The Georgia Emergency Management Agency today released statistics about its response to the winter storm current as of 1:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 14.  You can click here for the entire list, but below are some highlights:

• There were 2 weather-related fatalities and 4 injuries.
• Ringgold received 11 inches of snow.
• Augusta received approximately 1 inch of ice.
• Chainsaw strike teams from the Georgia Forestry Commission, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Georgia Department of Corrections completed 1,187 missions.
• The Georgia State Patrol assisted 541 motorists in central and north Georgia.
• On Thursday, 110 DNR rangers patrolled Georgia motorways assisting motorists.
• There were 18 shelters open in 16 counties on Thursday night, serving 616 people.  During the storm’s peak, 27 Georgia National Guard Armory locations and 11 state parks were also available to be used as shelters.

Atlanta Response Statistics:  Yesterday the City of Atlanta released a similar set of statistics about its response to the storm.  During the 48 hours between 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 11, and 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 13, the city tallied up the following statistics:

• Atlanta’s 911 call center received a total of 5,960 calls.
• Atlanta Fire Rescue crews have responded to 269 total calls, 121 of which were emergency medical service calls and 32 of which were reports of downed trees.
• Atlanta Police responded to 32 vehicle accidents, 30 reports of street hazards or stranded motorists, and 32 reports of downed power lines.
• The Department of Parks and Recreation says that as of 6:00 a.m. Thursday morning, a total of 175 residents had taken shelter in city recreation facilities serving as warming centers.
• Parks and Recreation responded to 26 reports of downed trees.

Georgia Hospitals Stayed Fully Operational:  The Georgia Department of Public Health reported that all Georgia hospitals remained fully functional during the storm.

Update 2:20 p.m.

FEMA Assistance In Augusta:  The Federal Emergency Management Agency says it has opened an Incident Support Base in Augusta to supply generators, meals, water, blankets, tarps, and cots, should supplies be needed and requested.  In addition, a FEMA Incident Management Assistance Team is now located at the Georgia Emergency Operations Center and another team has deployed to the South Carolina Emergency Operations Center to assist recovery efforts.

Update 1:45 p.m.

Power Restored In Atlanta, Almost:  Georgia Power has just tweeted that it has now restored power to 99% of its customers in the Atlanta area affected by power outages. 

We have now completed restoration to 99 percent of affected Metro Atlanta customers, but crews are still working to finish the job. ^J— Georgia Power (@GeorgiaPower) February 14, 2014

Separately, the AP is reporting that nearly a million homes and businesses in Georgia lost power at some point during the storm.  The AP is also reporting that late this morning Gov. Deal said that approximately 175,000 people in Georgia were still without power.

Update 12:30 p.m.

DeKalb County Opens All Roads, Closes Emergency Operations Center:  DeKalb Co. announced that all roads that had been closed because of the storm have now been reopened. The county also said it closed its emergency operations center at noon Friday and that the agency would resume a “monitoring mode” for the rest of the weekend.  Cots and blankets that were used in  overnight shelters are being returned to the Red Cross of Greater Atlanta. DeKalb Interim CEO Lee May said in a statement: 

“This snow and ice storm could have been more damaging than the one two weeks ago, but it wasn’t. This is due primarily to building upon the lessons we learned from the last time, as well as the engagement of the residents who heard and heeded the warnings and stayed at home or in place most of the time.  As a result, even though we had more snow and ice this time around, we had fewer accidents and damage as a result of accidents.”    

Update 11:15 a.m.

DHS Secy. Johnson Visits GEMA:  Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson visited the Georgia Emergency Management Agency state operations headquarters this morning and was briefed on the ongoing storm recovery by Gov. Nathan Deal and GEMA director Charlie English.

Update 10:50 a.m.

Valentine’s Day Canceled:  The sheriff of Oconee County, Scott Berry, took to Facebook Wednesday and declared Valentine’s Day canceled because of the winter storm:

The Oconee County County Sheriffs Office announces that Valentines Day has been CANCELLED from a line North of I-16 to the Georgia/Tennessee border. 

Men who live in the designated “NO VALENTINES DAY ZONE” are exempt from having to run out and buy lottery scratchers and Hershey bars from the corner stores until February 18, 2014, due to ice, snow, freezing rain.

This post quickly went viral and was picked up by media outlets around the country (up to and including NPR, CNN, the Today show and The Weather Channel, according to a quick search of Google News).  As of this morning, the Facebook post had over 150 comments, 1,600 shares and close to 1,100 likes.  But as one might imagine, the comments show that not everybody was on board with this idea.

Update 9:20 a.m.

Blood Donations Needed:  Below is a statement from the American Red Cross.

The American Red Cross is asking people to give blood to make up for the blood drives canceled due to this week’s storm.

All blood donation centers will open today with extended hours through the weekend. A list of locations and hours can be found at redcrossblood.org/donation-centers/southern. 

The storm has caused the cancelation of about 265 Red Cross blood drives in the south and along the East Coast, resulting in nearly 9,300 uncollected blood and platelet donations. More are expected as the storm moves north. Back-to-back winter storms had already canceled more than 1,000 blood drives in 34 states and Washington, D.C. this year before this latest storm.

All blood types are needed now and will be needed in the coming weeks to help ensure blood is available for patients. Donors can make an appointment by calling 1-800-RED CROSS or visiting redcrossblood.org.

Update 9:10 a.m.

RECAP:  Colleges and Universities.  Here is information on openings and closings of area colleges and universities that we reported on Thursday.

• Agnes Scott College: Agnes Scott will be open regular hours today, Feb. 14.
• Brenau University:  Brenau will open with 9:00 a.m. classes today; 8:00 a.m. classes were canceled.
• Emory University:  Emory resumes normal hours today.
• Georgia Gwinnett College:  GGC is closed today.
• Georgia Perimeter College:  GPC classes are canceled for Friday, but staff and administration are to report at 10:00 a.m.
• Georgia State University:  GSU resumes normal operations today.
• Georgia Tech:  Tech resumes normal operations.
• Kennesaw State University:  KSU will reopen today on a staggered schedule, with faculty and staff reporting at 10:00 a.m. and classes starting at 11:00 a.m.
• Morehouse College:  Morehouse will not have classes for students today, but staff is to report at noon. Morehouse also made the following announcement:  Inauguration will now take place at 1 p.m. on Friday, February 14, in the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel, with a reception to follow in Forbes Arena.  All other Inaugural and Founder’s Week events, for remainder of the weekend, are expected to proceed at their regularly scheduled times and places.
• Spelman College:  there will be no classes at Spelman for students today. Staff is asked to report at noon.
• Southern Polytechnic State University:  SPSU will open on a delayed basis at 10:00 a.m.; everyone should avoid the West Main Entrance.
• University of Georgia:  UGA will reopen at 10:00 a.m. today.

Update 8:55 a.m.

RECAP:  K-12 Schools. The following list is a recap of school closings that we reported on Thursday.

• Atlanta Public Schools:  APS remains closed Friday, Feb. 14.
• Cherokee County Schools:  Cherokee schools are closed today; all 190- to 235-day staff are to report at 10:00 a.m.
• Clayton County School System:  Clayton schools will remain closed through Monday, Feb. 17, for Winter Break; school will resume on Tuesday, Feb. 18. 
• Cobb County Schools:  Cobb County schools will be closed today through Tuesday, Feb. 18, for student/staff furlough days.  All extracurricular activities may resume after 12:00 p.m. today, Feb. 14, and continue through the remainder of the weekend.
• DeKalb County Schools:  DeKalb schools are closed today; all 12-month employees are to report at 10:00 a.m., conditions permitting.
• Forsyth County Schools:  Today is a work day for staff; no classes will be held, but regular athletics will resume.
• Gwinnett Public Schools:  Gwinnett schools will remain closed today.
• Marietta City Schools:  Marietta schools planned to open on a normal schedule today, subject to road conditions in the morning.
• Pace Academy:  Pace will reopen at 10:00 a.m.; the school asks people not to arrive before 9:00 a.m. so staff can make sure the campus is free of ice.

Update 8:45 a.m.

Power Slowly Being Restored:  According to the Associated Press, Georgia utility companies report that about 180,000 customers in the state are still without electricity. Georgia Power reported that more than 100,000 customers were without service Friday morning. The vast majority are in east Georgia, with more than 80,000 of them in and around Augusta. Also, the state’s electric membership cooperatives, or EMCs, say that about 70,400 of their customers were without power Friday morning. EMC officials say power has been restored to more than 217,000 customers of the EMCs since the storm began.  The AP also reports that the numbers have been fluctuating as crews restore power and new outages are reported, but were showing a downward trend early Friday. You can look at Georgia Power’s online outage map for more details on how their repair work is going.

Update 8:40 a.m.

Atlanta:  city government offices in Atlanta will delay opening this morning, Feb. 14.  All city offices will open at 10:00 a.m.

Fulton County Government:  Fulton Co. offices will open at the regular time today.

Georgia State Government:  state offices will open at 10:00 a.m. today, Feb. 14, as per an executive order from Gov. Deal; agency heads have discretion to close offices in areas with significant power outages and to allow teleworking where commuting may be dangerous.

DeKalb County Government:  DeKalb County offices will open at 10:00 a.m. today.

Dunwoody:  the city of Dunwoody’s administrative offices will open at 10:00a.m. today. 

Update 8:30 a.m.

Cobb Community Transit:  CCT will be running on a normal schedule Friday, Feb. 14, including paratransit.

Gwinnett County Transit:  CCT will resume normal operation on Friday, Feb. 14, beginning at 7:00 a.m.

Gwinnett County:  Gwinnett County government offices are opening at a variety of times on Friday, Feb. 14. Gwinnett County administrative offices will open at 8:00 a.m.; all offices of the Tax Commissioner, including the tag office, will open at 10:00 a.m.; Gwinnett County Courts will also open at 10:00 a.m.

Gwinnett County:  Ronald Reagan Parkway will remain closed to vehicular traffic until after the Run The Reagan Road Race on Saturday, Feb. 15.

Update 7:55 a.m. (bus schedule revised 8:15 a.m.)

MARTA:  MARTA’s buses and rail service will be rolling today on a limited schedule as the transit system recovers from the disruptions of the storm.  The information below is taken from the MARTA web site, which has only been available intermittently over the last several days due to increased demand.

RAIL SERVICE

Rail service starting at 4:35 a.m. running a 10 – 20 minute schedule .Red Line trains will be running between North Springs and Lindbergh Station. If you need to continue south on the Red Line, please transfer at Lindbergh and board the next southbound train on the Gold Line.  

BUS SERVICE

A modified bus service to offer a high level of coverage across the bus system and provide service along major arterial routes ,to the major medical facilities with emergency room services and high-ridership areas.  Starting at 7 a.m. we will be operating the bus routes listed below.  The routes maybe modified due to safety concerns.  As  weather conditions improve we will be able to add additional routes.