Albany Storm Relief Updates

Albany storm relief updates, via Dougherty County and the City of Albany, Georgia:

February 1, 2017 – 5:45 p.m.

• Albany Utilities has restored power to all affected homes
• Town Hall meetings, jointly hosted by Dougherty County Chairman Chris Cohilas and City of Albany Mayor Dorothy Hubbard, will be held for citizens to receive information directly from FEMA representatives regarding eligibility for FEMA assistance and how to register. Meetings be held:

– Thursday, February 2, 2017 from 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM at the Government Center, 222 Pine Ave, in Room 100.
– Tuesday, February 7, 2017 from 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM at Dougherty High School 1800 Pearce Avenue, in the auditorium
– Thursday, February 9, 2017 from 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM at Radium Springs Middle Magnet School, 2600 Radium Springs Road, in the cafeteria.

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• Georgia Search and Rescue has officially ended their search for the missing child. All search and rescue efforts have concluded at this time. This matter has now been returned to the Dougherty County Police Department as a missing persons case
• 5 confirmed fatalities, Patricia Gohman died to head trauma injury resulting from the January 22nd tornao
• As has been reported, the official FEMA Declaration has been confirmed for the January 2 storm (Storm 1) for individual and public assistance. The official FEMA Declaration has been confirmed the January 21-22 (Storm 2) for individual assistance.
• The Dougherty County School System will be closed until Monday, January 30, 2017
• Road blocks: Holly Rd. at Hwy 19- no access, Holly Rd. at Moultrie Rd., Sylvester Hwy and Branch Rd.
• Road closures: Honeysuckle Rd., Holly Dr., US 82 Eastbound at Ramsey Rd.
• Albany Utilities has restored power to 310 homes, with 3250 homes still without power
• Georgia Power has restored power to 100% of its affected customers
• Missing child matter of 2 year old Dedtrezz Green has now been transferred back to the Dougherty County Police Department as a missing child case
• Law enforcement will be monitoring traffic so that power lines can be restored and patrolling neighborhoods to deter criminal activity

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January 26, 2017 – 2:15 p.m.

• President Trump announces the approval of Federal Declaration and FEMA assistance for Albany-Dougherty County regarding January 22, 2017 storm

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January 25, 2017 – 3:23 p.m.

• Georgia Governor Nathan Deal confirms Federal Declaration of Disaster by President Trump and granting of FEMA assistance for Albany-Dougherty County regarding the January 2, 2017 storm

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January 23, 2017 – 12:49 p.m.

• Currently in active search and rescue
• 3 Georgia Search and Rescue teams on site
• Preliminary search of known affected structures has been completed. Secondary technical searches in affected areas currently underway
• Flyover survey to chart tornado path has been completed
• Albany Utilities, Georgia Power and Mitchell EMC all have power to damage structures and are working to repair damage
• Tremendous amount of state resources working jointly on storm disaster relief efforts, including Law Enforcement, Georgia Department of Transportation, Georgia Forestry Department and Georgia Search and Rescue
• Power substations and circuits affected by storm: 20 station, all circuits; 17 station, kroger circuit; 10 station, treatment plant and 4 points circuit; 9 station, #5 feeder breaker
• Affected areas: Lilly Pond/Newton Rd. areas, Airport, Habersham/Forsythe areas, Cochran/Madison/Willard areas, Wells/Southgate areas, Radium Springs/Patrol/Cannon/Edwards areas, 600 Holly trailer park, Roxanna/Virginia/Hibiscus areas, Devencrest mhp, US 19/Holly, Mock/Stanford areas, Mock/Duitman areas, Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany, Johnson Rd./Sylvester Rd., Cresent/Cherokee areas, Sylvester Rd. and surrounding areas, Pine Glen subdivision, Hill Rd./County Line Rd., Tompkins/Pearce/Brierwood apartments, Brierwood area, Mercantile/Teche/Mobile areas, 1611 Krug business, Martin Luther King businesses, Riverview/Flintrock/Malone areas, Imperial Rd./Bettys Dr. areas, Evergreen/Hemlock areas, Abbey/Shannon/Brittany areas, Gary/Sharon areas, 1400 Whispering Pines Garden Apartments
• Roads closed: Dougherty St., 2500 block E. Doublegate Dr., Honeysuckle Dr., 2500 block Oxford Dr., 900 block W. 1st Ave, Holley Dr., Briarwood Dr., 200 block of Denson Rd., Madeline Rd., Johnson Rd., 200 block of Schley Ave., US 82 Eastbound at County Line Rd.
• Dougherty County Emergency Management Agency has created Facebook and Twitter pages to provide important updates and information. Both pages can be found at @DoCoEMA or by searching Dougherty County Emergency Management Agency.

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January 12, 2017 – 5:12 p.m.

• FEMA and GEMA are currently conducting city and county property damage assessments as well as individual assessments with staff
• Less than 1,000 homes are without power. City staff will be working throughout the impacted areas to identify and assess the number of homes that are without power due to meter, weatherhead or structural damage
• Completion of Property Damage Information survey is encouraged and can be completed online. *COMPLETE SURVEY HERE*

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January 11, 2017 – 10:29 a.m.

• Governor Nathan Deal toured the impacted areas yesterday with the Senator, State Representatives and City and County Officials
• Governor Deal signed a request for federal declaration for Dougherty County and seven other counties
• FEMA and GEMA will be in the area to conduct city and county property damage assessments as well as individual assessments with staff today (Wednesday, January 11)
• Started with 2/3 residents without power (25,000), now we are more than 85% restored
• Approximately 340 linemen working to restore power from ECG partnering cities and neighboring communities
• The power outage map will be updated and posted to the website and social media pages
• 27 debris crews on the ground clearing streets
• Collected approximately 34,000 cubic yards of debris, less than 5% of the total debris to be collected
• 24 Officers are working overnight patrol of the affected areas (Lake Park, Rawson Circle and Cromartie Beach area) 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m
• All traffic signals are now operational
• 79 roads were closed, 62 roads are clear and reopened as of yesterday
• 17 roads remain closed (not including alleys)
• 1 Red Cross shelter remains open (Civic Center)
• Faith-based and community organizations have set up relief sites
• 1,635 (Homeowners- 988, Renters- 647) Property Damage Information Surveys have been completed to capture the full scope of structural and/or personal property damages in an effort to seek federal assistance. We are encouraging citizens to continue completing this survey. *COMPLETE SURVEY HERE*

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January 10, 2017 – 3:56 p.m.

• Due to the extensive areas of power outages across the city, numerous city pump stations have been without power potentially resulting in raw sewage overflows into adjacent waterways. As a precaution, the public is advised to avoid contact with water in the city canal system, storm water ponds and the Georgia Power Dam Reservoir near Turner Field until further notice.

  For more information on the pump stations contact Mr. Jeffery Hughes, Sewer Systems Superintendent, at 229.883.8998.

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January 9, 2017 – 4:40 p.m.

• Georgia Governor Nathan Deal to tour Albany-Dougherty County on Tuesday January 10 to survey damage.

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January 9, 2017 – 4:38 p.m.

January 8, 2017 – 3:28 p.m.

• Significant progress has been made to restore power
• A map of areas without power will be provided and updated daily
• Approximately 2,500 homes are still without power. (Note: A more detailed update regarding areas without power and plans for restoration)
• The number of lift stations without power has been reduced to 15
• Please do not co-mingle household trash and landfill waste (mattresses, sofas, etc.) within the curbside storm debris (wood products)
• Please be aware of hanging limbs or wires that may fall due to strong winds and clean-up efforts
• 24 Officers are working overnight patrol of the affected areas (Lake Park, Rawson Circle and Cromartie Beach area) 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m.
• All traffic signals are now operational
• 62 roads were cleared and reopened yesterday
• 17 roads remain closed (not including alleys)
• Last night there were 14 shelters open with 116 guests
• 972 Property Damage Information Surveys have been completed to capture the full scope of structural and/or personal property damages in an effort to seek federal assistance. We are encouraging citizens to continue completing this survey. *COMPLETE SURVEY HERE*

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January 7, 2017 – 6:53 p.m.

• Georgia Governor Nathan Deal declares a state of emergency for four South Georgia counties affected by tornado: Baker, Calhoun, Dougherty and Mitchell counties.

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January 5, 2017 – 3:12 p.m. 

• City will announce plan for Red Cross emergency shelters at 5:00pm – one west, one central, one east – open through Monday.
• Scope of damage caused by storms is more extensive than early estimates. Easy to average problem infrastructure has been repaired. Remaining outages are more complex.
• Inventory of power poles is sufficient to support replacing the 100 downed poles.
• Outage map to be released online soon.
• City is encouraging finding long term solutions for displaced citizens.

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January 5, 2017 – 2:24 p.m. The National Weather Service out of Tallahassee, Florida confirmed that an EF1 tornado was responsible for the damage to Northeast Dougherty County on Monday, January 2, 2017. Straight line winds estimated at up to 85 mph also caused significant damage and was widespread across the City of Albany and Dougherty County. The Insurance Commissioner or his designee will be touring the areas of impact today, along with representatives from the Small Business Administration (SBA).

The City staff and crews, along with resources from neighboring communities are
working diligently to provide relief and restore power. Updates on those efforts are
as follows:

• Over 100 linemen from neighboring cities have been provided to assist with the widespread power outages. Seventeen (17) neighboring cities have also provided crew assistance:Thomasville, Camilla, Cordell, Ellaville, Blakely, Moultrie, Douglas, Fitzgerald, Cairo, Adele, Burnsville, Griffin, Sandersville, Lagrange, West Point, Whigham, Sylvester.
• Electric Cities of Georgia provided two (2) Safety Instructors to assist with crew safety.
• TransWaste has provided 13 grapple trucks for use in clean-up efforts
• Increased manpower and resources has also been provided by Crisp Power, Trees Unlimited and Ashland Company
• Major progress has been made with debris clearance of street entrances. Additional crews will be assisting Public Works to expedite remaining debris clean up from roadways
•  Six (6) substations are still significantly affected. There are considerable extenuating circumstances where power restoration is challenging and complicated because of unsafe conditions and structural damage.
• The estimated time for restoration of power to substation areas without challenges is as follows:
  – Substation #2 (Slappey, Haley) – Main circuits are energized. Anticipated restoration within 3-7 days
  – Substation #3 (Palmyra Subdivision, Phoebe) – One circuit is down; 75% has been restored. Anticipated restoration within 3-7 days
  – Substation #5 (Lake Park, Sherwood) – Circuit is completely down, has not been energized. Anticipated restoration within 7-14 days
  – Substation #9 (ASU West, Gillionville) – Most of the circuit is energized, one circuit is down.
  Anticipated restoration within 1-3 days
  – Substation #17 (Turner Field, Cromartie Beach) – Circuit is completely down, has not been energized. Anticipated restoration within 3-7 days
  – Substation #19 (Oakridge, Willie Pitts) – Main circuit is energized. Anticipated restoration within 3-5 days
• Telecommunications is working to restore fiber optic internet service
• All residents who have sustained severe damage and have meters and weather heads (service ] poles) that have been separated from the home, must contact an electrician to repair the meter before power can be restored
• All residents are asked to bring their debris to the curbside or alley for collection.
• The County landfill hours have been extended until January 15th for residents who choose to dispose of their debris. Hours are:
  – Monday-Friday 7:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
  – Saturday 7:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
  – Sunday 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
• Public Works has resumed their normal schedule for trash pick-up (90 gallon barrel). Please leave barrels out until collected.
• All Transit routes including Para Transit are operational, with the exception of Orange (North Jefferson), Red (Don Cutler, Cromartie Beach) and 1X (Sylvester Road).
• Volunteers are available to assist with debris clean up to be collected from curbside with priority to elderly and disabled citizens. For assistance contact (229.483.6226, 229.483.6227 or 229.483.6228).

The City appreciates the community’s patience during this time. Our top priority is to restore services to all impacted area as soon as possible. Please continue to minimizeall unnecessary travel and exercise caution of predatory contractors.A meeting will be held for neighborhood watch leaders and community organizers atthe Law Enforcement Center (LEC) in the Community room this afternoon at 2:30p.m. (201 W. Oglethorpe Blvd.). The purpose of the meeting is to provide storm reliefupdates for the areas that are still without power and not receiving news reports.This meeting will allow the city to communicate the most updated information. Additional updates will be provided as information becomes available.