Some Georgians Could Lose Power for Days
On Tuesday afternoon, Gov. Deal expanded the state of emergency to include a total of 89 Georgia counties.
Governor Deal urged metro Atlanta residents not be fooled by Tuesday’s weather. Gov. Deal said the second wave will be much worse. “We’re not crying wolf.”
Deal said he is concerned about ice and called the approaching winter weather one of “Mother Nature’s worst kinds of storms.”
Power officials say some parts of Georgia could receive up to an inch of ice. They say anything that’s a half inch or more is a concern, especially on power lines. Aaron Strickland, emergency operations director for Georgia Power, said some Georgians should be prepared to be without power for several days.
“This has the opportunity to be a huge event, when you’re talking about the amount of ice we’re looking at…just from moving around, being able to get people into work. We’re talking about hundreds of thousands of outages.”
To aid with those who lose power during the storm, Georgia Power has called in large numbers of utility crews from other states.
As a result, seven state parks are being opened up to shelter Georgians who are stranded along I-20 along with 65 being opened up by the National Guard. The state also brought in 180 tons of additional sand and salt for use on roadways, and more than 500 national guardsmen are standing ready to assist with the storm
Officials also said a federal emergency declaration signed by President Obama will allow things like generators and other supplies to be brought into the state. Transportation officials are hoping to keep highways open, but say truckers will be diverted if necessary. In the meantime, other residents are being asked to stay off the roads.
If there is an emergency, Governor Deal says those in need should call 911. Deal also says the National Guard is available to evacuate nursing homes and other vulnerable populations if needed.
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