BREAKING: Tropical Storm Helene leaves over 1 million without power in Georgia, flash flood emergency in place in Atlanta
This story was updated on Friday, Sept. 27 at 10:57 a.m.
Much of metro Atlanta was under a flash flood emergency on Friday morning as the region felt the effects of Tropical Storm Helene, which brought 70 mph winds to Georgia.
The storm made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane late Thursday night in Florida and entered Georgia in the early morning hours of Friday. The hurricane’s eye passed near Valdosta as the storm churned rapidly north from there.
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said at a Friday morning press conference that there were no deaths or serious injuries in the city due to the storm. But flash flooding in Buckhead and other low-lying areas has been an issue. The Atlanta Fire Rescue Department has performed 20 rescues.
Dickens urged people to stay off the roads.
“Trees are still falling, limbs are falling and debris is in the roadway,” he said. “You never know what you may encounter so it’s best to be safe.”
Over 110,000 people in metro Atlanta and over 1 million people in Georgia were without power as of 10:45 a.m. Friday., according to poweroutage.us.
Georgia Power CEO Kim Greene said the company has 1,700 crews out across the state, and that they restored power to 120,000 people overnight.
But she expects the number of outages to rise.
“All of that rain is leading to very saturated ground, and trees unfortunately will continue to fall,” Greene said at the press conference.
View a map of the latest Georgia Power outages here and a map of the Georgia EMC outages here.
Kemp orders more National Guard troops, number of flight cancellations increases
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Friday ordered an additional 1,000 National Guard troops to be used in response to the storm. This was on top of the 500 troops he called into service when he issued a state of emergency earlier this week.
Over 150 flights into or out of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Friday were canceled, according to FlightAware. Over 330 flights were delayed.
Fulton County Emergency Management ended its high wind threat around 9 a.m. Friday. The agency urged residents to avoid downed trees and debris and to avoid travel unless necessary until Friday afternoon.
The storm should continue to weaken Friday afternoon, with winds dropping below 40 mph (64 kph), but it will still produce widespread heavy rain over the Appalachian Mountains with the possibility of mudslides and flash flooding, according to Jack Beven, a senior hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center.
Local officials urge caution
Motorists should call 511 if they see flash flooding, downed trees, fallen power lines and other road blockages. GDOT strongly urged motorists not to clear debris on the road by themselves, since downed power lines could still be live and cause electric shock or death.
Those who need to use Georgia roadways should consult www.511ga.org or call 511. The City of Atlanta advised residents to call 311 if they see downed trees, trees blocking the road or flooding (unless someone is hurt, then call 911).
GDOT crews will prioritize cleanup on interstates, then address state routes, focusing on roads to hospitals and other essential services.
On Thursday, President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration for the state of Georgia. That move makes federal assistance available to support state and local agencies responding to the storm.
AP contributed to this report.
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