Newspaper Page Text
LOCAL
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 21 - 27, 2017 • Page 11
BY HORACE HOLLOMAN
horace@dekalbchamp.com
After rumbling its way through the Florida,
Hurricane Irma found its way to Georgia. The
storm hit Georgia Sept. 11, and some officials
are saying DeKalb County was one of the
hardest hit metro areas.
The effects of the storm caused DeKalb
County CEO Michael Thurmond to declare
a local state of emergency. On Sept. 12,
Thurmond signed the declaration , which
enabled the county to be eligible to receive
state and federal resources.
"DeKalb County has taken the brunt of the
hit of Irma in metro Atlanta,"Thurmond said.
"Our ability to recover as soon as possible
depends on the hard work of our dedicated
employees and the resources we receive."
Here are some of the effects of Hurricane
Irma by the numbers.
115,000
(homes without power)
During the peak of the storm, an
estimated 175,000 or 54 percent of the
homes in DeKalb County lost power.
According to Georgia Power's website,
the company services 317,748 homes
in DeKalb. As of Sept. 15, four days after
the storm, Georgia Power reported a
remaining 387 power outages affecting
more than 5,000 customers.
Georgia Power released a statement
on social media stating, "The damages
in DeKalb are extensive and have made
repairs complex. We are working hard to
restore service [as soon as possible]."
Lithonia resident Quentin Campbell
said his family was without power for
more than 37 hours. After waiting out the
initial storm on Sept. 11, Campbell said he
eventually left his home to stay with his
sister in Union City.
"I just packed up the kids and left,"
Campbell said, laughing. "It was a full
house with [my kids and sister] but I'm just
happy it's over and we're getting back to
normal."
1
(hurricane related death)
There was one hurricane related death
in DeKalb County, DeKalb County Fire and
Rescue Department officials confirmed.
A Decatur man, Wendell Bailey, 74, was
without power for several days.
The fire began in the early morning
of Sept. 13. Fire officials confirmed Bailey
was without power due to Hurricane Irma.
Firefighters pulled Bailey out of a second-
story window but were not able to revive
him.
292
(fallen trees)
County officials said more than 200 trees
throughout the county blocked roads or
lanes and brought down power lines.
According to the county, road workers
had to coordinate with Georgia Power
before removing trees tangled in power
lines.
"You're not supposed to get anywhere
close to a line that's down," said county
spokesperson Andrew Cauthen. "If there's
a tree without a line, we can address that.
We deal with the county rights of way.
DeKalb will be dealing with this for some
time."
By Sept. 14, the county had removed
180 trees, 130 tons of debris and had an
estimated additional 112 trees yet to be
removed.
City of Decatur Assistant City Manager
David Junger said Decatur had more than
100 reports of trees and power lines down.
"We've been actively working with
Georgia Power to repair our down lines,"
Junger said.
25
(miles per hour sustained winds)
The DeKalb County Emergency
Management Agency opened its
Emergency Operations Center for five
days as a result of Hurricane Irma.
DCEMA Chief Sue Loeffler said she
was proud of how her team handled the
storm. Initially, Loeffler said the DCEMA
expected sustained winds around 35
miles per hour, but received 25-mile-an-
hour sustained winds during the storm.
If winds had been around 35 miles per
hour as initially expected, Loeffler said,
the damage around the county could
have been worse.
"We could have had a lot more trees
down," Loeffler said. "We had a great
collaboration with internal and external
departments and the board of health and
came together for this storm. It's never a
perfect response, but we do everything
we can to think of or plan for the worse. I
can't say enough about my team."
575
(pets)
As a result of the storm, Lifeline's
DeKalb County Animal Services experi
enced a higher intake volume. As of Sept.
15, DeKalb's new animal shelter became
the temporary home of 430 dogs and 145
cats which is the highest intake in the last
three years, according to Lifeline officials.
Lifeline spokesperson Karen Hirsch
said many families fleeing the storm
brought their pets and dropped them off
at the shelter.
During the month of September, dogs
more than 25 pounds and cats can be ad
opted for $40, which includes spay, neu
ter fees, microchips and vaccines.