After rampaging through Florida, Hurricane Helene entered Georgia during the early morning hours as a Category 2 hurricane. The devastation has reportedly led to six deaths in the state, severe flooding and nearly 1 million power outages.
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens provided an update on what occurred within the city during a press conference held this morning.
“There has been some flooding in the Buckhead area as well as some other low lying areas,” Dickens said. “Thankfully, some of our other trouble hotspots normally, like the AUC center, Vine city, English Avenue, and Peoplestown we haven’t seen a significant amount of flooding in those areas. So we hope that continues overnight.”
A major issue continues to be cars that have been stuck in flooding areas. Dickens warns people to stay home if possible.
“We have experienced a number of individuals that decided to drive in this weather during this time. We are cautioning folks to stay out of the roadway, to please stay at home,” Dickens said. “We are still under a flash flood emergency until 1 p.m., that means that there still could be instances where your car could be flooded and you may become immobilized, and we’ll have to rescue you. It would be best to not go out at this time.”
Dickens revealed that some individuals have had to be rescued.
“We did experience some individuals that were stranded in their vehicles and we’ve had swift recovery by Atlanta Fire Rescue Department to be able to rescue about 20 people,” he said. “People with boats, as well as to get them out of their cars and some were in their apartments. We’ve rescued pets and entire families. So thanks to our outstanding leadership and committed individuals at Atlanta Fire Rescue Department to be able to go into those areas and save those lives.”
Dickens continued by saying, “Trees are still falling, limbs are falling, and debris is in the roadway. You never know what you may encounter. So it’s best to be safe. Also, emergency vehicles need to be able to have a clear passage.”
Dickens said the senior citizen community has also been a priority for city officials.
“We’ve been very careful to make sure we communicate with our senior centers and senior citizens,” he said. “We have about 80 facilities with Atlanta housing and other organizations that we have sent teams out and that we’ve called and checked on. At this time, we have nothing of significance to note at any of our senior centers.”
Although Atlanta escaped the brunt of the storm, South Georgia experienced major damage.
In Wheeler County, Georgia, two people were reportedly killed when the storm caused their trailer to be lifted off its foundation and thrown into a nearby peanut field. Two deaths have been reported in Laurens County, Georgia, and one death in Liberty County, Georgia.
Gov. Brian Kemp signed an executive order to call up 1,000 guard troops to assist with recovery efforts of Helene, which has mostly impacted South Georgia.
In metro Atlanta, school systems that are closed include Atlanta Public Schools, Dekalb County Schools, Fulton County Schools, Clayton County Schools, and Gwinnett County Schools.
In terms of colleges in the metro Atlanta area, Morehouse, Spelman, Georgia State University, Georgia Tech, and Emory will offer remote-only classes today.
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