Gov. Nathan Deal’s administration called for the staggered release of state employees, ordered a state of emergency for more than half of Georgia’s counties and dispatched backup power generators at hospitals and other high-risk areas ahead of another burst of wintry weather.
Deal and his aides were eager to pursue a more proactive response after he and other politicians were panned for their reaction to the Jan. 28 snowfall that gridlocked metro Atlanta. The implicit message was that, this time, state officials were taking no chances.
Case in point: As the first snowflakes fell at midday on Jan. 28, Deal and Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed were at a Ritz-Carlton awards ceremony for a luncheon. On Tuesday, as the first wave of winter weather approached the region, the governor and his staff quietly munched on Chick-fil-A sandwiches at a near-empty state cafeteria.
“We could go ahead and make judgment calls this time. That’s the big difference, we had enough warning we could react to it before the business day starts,” the governor said in an interview. “It’s a far more proactive response. That’s for sure. And so far so good.”
The state is preparing dozens of emergency shelters for those stranded on the roads or without electricity for a long time. Seven state parks will be turned into makeshift shelters, and the Georgia National Guard is making armories available as well.
Deal also urged drivers not to be lulled into complacency by the rain and snow that blanketed parts of Georgia on Tuesday, warning that a second blast of wintry weather would be far more severe.
“This is one of Mother Nature’s worst kinds of storms,” said Deal, who added: “We’re not kidding. We’re not just crying wolf.”
The National Weather Service is warning of a wave of “crippling ice” and dire conditions that could topple power lines and turn roads into icy messes. Georgia Power’s chief emergency executive, Aaron Strickland, warned that a “huge event” could knock out power for hundreds of thousands of residents.
“I would be prepared to be without power for days,” said Strickland.
The state’s emergency weather order now spans 89 of Georgia’s 159 counties. President Barack Obama also signed a disaster declaration for the state that clears the way for more federal assistance as a storm that the National Weather Service warned could bring “crippling ice” rumbles through Georgia.
The flurry of activity was starkly different than the Jan. 28 storm, which paralyzed the city for days. Charley English, who heads the state’s emergency response, has apologized repeatedly for a series of miscues before that storm hit. He said on Tuesday that he’s learned from his mistakes.
“We heard the governor loud and clear that he expected a better response and that’s what we’ve done this time. We started early. We’ll be with it throughout the duration,” said English. “I hope your cellphones went off with the warnings we issued on his direction. And that’s all I have to say.”
The cellphone alerts were among a series of other measures Deal’s staff took to brace for the weather. He ordered state employees to return home in shifts, a staggered release meant to avoid the nasty gridlock from the near simultaneous release of students, office workers and state employees in January. And backup generators were placed in hospitals and clinics.
“We think we are in much better shape this time, this storm, to be able to deal with the adversities,” Deal said, before quickly adding: “But it is alarming when you hear the National Weather Service using terms like ‘historic.’”
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