Metro Atlanta
Metro Atlanta

About 20,000 without power in SE Georgia

A member of a tree service company removes a tree from the roof of a damaged home in Valdosta during cleanup after Tropical Storm Hermine on Friday, Sept. 2, 2016. CURTIS COMPTON /ccompton@ajc.com
A member of a tree service company removes a tree from the roof of a damaged home in Valdosta during cleanup after Tropical Storm Hermine on Friday, Sept. 2, 2016. CURTIS COMPTON /ccompton@ajc.com
By
Sept 3, 2016

An estimated 20,000 people in the Savannah area and surrounding southeast Georgia counties were without power Saturday, a day after what’s now Tropical Storm Hermine struck the area, Georgia Power officials say.

Georgia Power officials said crews have restored service to more than 240,000 customers since the start of the storm. Over 3,200 crew and support resources are working to restore power as quickly as possible, the company said on its website. They hope to restore power throughout the entire area by Sunday evening.

Federal officials Saturday morning warned area residents to be careful of hazards, such as live power lines, during the cleanup process.

The storm claimed one life. A homeless man was killed when a tree fell on him as he was sleeping in a tent near Ocala, in west-central Florida, said Gov. Rick Scott.

Officials feared it could had been much worse. Hermine lost much of its vigor, weakening into a tropical storm by the time it passed over the Panhandle and into South Georgia. At midday Saturday, satellite images showed the eye of the storm was near the Virginia coast.

About the Author

Eric Stirgus joined The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2001. He is the newsroom's education editor. Born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., Eric is active in the Atlanta Association of Black Journalists and the Education Writers Association and enjoys mentoring aspiring journalists.

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