Governor declares statewide emergency for storm damage; no significant damage reports in DeKalb
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A map of DeKalb County.
This story has been updated.
DeKalb County, GA – A storm blew through the area overnight, and while it damaged other parts of the state, there are no reports of significant damage in DeKalb County.
The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that the storms killed at least six people throughout the state and left thousands of people without power.
“The widespread storms produced possible tornadoes in Chattooga County in northwest Georgia and south Fulton County in metro Atlanta, as well as Putnam and Upson counties to the south,” the AJC reported. To read the full story, click here.
The Atlanta Police Department received calls of downed trees but there were no reports of injuries. There were no reports of damage in Tucker. The city of Avondale Estates reported that the storm knocked a tree down, briefly blocking Fairfield Drive. That tree has been removed.
Decatur Police said there were no reports of storm damage within the city. There were no reported injuries or fatalities. Numerous Decatur residents reported that they didn’t receive smart911 notifications about the severe weather. City Manager Andrea Arnold said smart911 uses a polygon to determine whether or not someone receives a notification.
“For people that have signed up, Smart911 sends alerts to properties within a storm-predicting polygon,” Arnold said. “See the map below to show what properties would have been notified. The polygon is the area in yellow.”
“It is recommended that people have more than one weather alerting/notification system. People can sign up for the City’s Smart911 system to receive emergency weather alerts should their property be included in a storm predicting polygon. Last evening, only the southern part of the city was in the polygon, so only a portion of the city received calls/texts from Smart911. Other notification options include weather radios and weather notification apps from local weather channels such as WSB or Fox5, for example.”
Here is Gov. Kemp’s announcement about the emergency declaration:
Atlanta, GA – Today Governor Kemp declared a statewide state of emergency following severe storm damage across Georgia over the last twenty-four hours.
“We are praying for those who lost loved ones overnight and the families dealing with severe storm damage. 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,” said Governor Kemp. “This morning, I also spoke with FEMA Administrator Pete Gaynor, and I greatly appreciate his offer of federal assistance as we work to rebuild and recover from these storms.”
As of early this morning, 177,000 Georgians were without power. Overnight, there were forty tornado warnings issued across the state.
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