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This tree went down over power lines in the southern part of the county. Photo by Alan NeSmith/Staff
The violent storm last night in Habersham County – including a possible tornado touchdown – caused damage to trees and power lines, particularly in the southern end of the county.
More than 2,000 area residents – the majority in Habersham County – are still without power as of 5:30 p.m. Monday from the violent storms that swept through the region overnight.
Habersham EMC spokesperson Nicole Dover said crews are having to cut their way into the hardest hit areas, thus slowing restoration efforts.
Crews have already found 16 broken poles, each of which takes a minimum of four hours to repair, Dover said.
“Also, the continued winds today have caused additional outages. In some cases, areas which had been restored this morning have lost power again a few hours later due to trees or branches falling due to the wind,” Dover added.
Due to COVID-19, Habersham EMC asks the community to please respect social distancing guidelines and do not approach HEMC crews or contractors in the field.
Outages at 5:30 p.m. include: Habersham 1,513; White 229; Hall 203; and Rabun 145 for a total of 2,090.
We’ll have more updates as they come in, and read more in the midweek edition of The Northeast Georgian.
Statewide UPDATE from Dave Williams, Capitol Beat News Service
Gov. Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency in Georgia Monday after a severe storm system ripped through the state Sunday night and early Monday, generating high winds, heavy rain and tornadoes.
At least six people were killed in Georgia, including five at two mobile home parks near Chatsworth. A sixth victim was killed in Cartersville when a tree fell on his house as he slept.
As of early Monday, 177,000 Georgians were without electricity.
Kemp announced the new state of emergency will coexist with the statewide public health emergency he first declared last month and renewed last week related to the coronavirus pandemic.
“The responses by the state to this state of emergency for storm damage and the public health state of emergency should both proceed simultaneously, without one impeding the other,” an executive order the governor issued Monday stated.
Monday’s executive order will remain in effect for 10 days, until April 23. The order authorizes the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency to bring “all “resources” of the state to bear to respond to the affected areas and help with recovery.
The order also suspended the federal rules limiting the hours commercial truck drivers can be on the roads in order to prevent disruptions in supplies of gasoline and diesel fuel, emergency supplies, food and other agricultural products and the removal of storm debris.
It also allows trucks to exceed the usual legal weight, height and length restrictions, subject to oversize permits issued by the Georgia Department of Public Safety.
"We are praying for those who lost loved ones overnight and the families dealing with severe storm damage." Kemp said. "In coordination with private-sector partners, multiple state agencies - including the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency, Department of Public Safety, Department of Natural Resources, Department of Transportation, and Georgia Forestry Commission - are working hard to restore power, clear debris, and provide necessary assistance to families across the state."
Kemp said Pete Gaynor, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, has offered the federal government's assistance in the recovery.