Irma Hits DeKalb County Hard

DECATUR, Ga.— DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond on Tuesday declared a local state of emergency in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Irma which caused widespread damage in DeKalb.

CEO Thurmond’s declaration enables the county to be eligible to receive additional state and federal resources to aid in the response and recovery.

“DeKalb County has taken the brunt of the hit of Irma in metro Atlanta,” CEO Thurmond said. “Our ability to recover as soon as possible depends on the hard work of our dedicated employees and the resources we receive.”

At the peak of the storm, approximately 54 percent, or 170,000, of the homes in DeKalb County lost power. As of 11 a.m. on Sept. 13, approximately 62,000 DeKalb customers still were without power, more than any other metro Atlanta county.

DeKalb County is working in partnership with Georgia Power to restore service to homes as soon as possible.

Additionally, more than 100 trees remain down across roads and in county rights of way.

Many of these trees have live Georgia Power lines in them. Residents should avoid all downed power lines.

While county crews are working as quickly as possible to remove trees from roads and rights of way, property owners are responsible for trees on their property.

DeKalb crews have removed more than 38 tons of trees and debris since the storm hit.

Residents can report a downed tree in a road or county right-of-way by calling 404-294-2911.

Power outages should be reported to Georgia Power at 888-891-0938.

For up-to-date information about the Tropical Storm Irma recovery, go to www.dekalbcountyga.gov/Irma.

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