Forsyth County pitches in after E4 tornado spreads destruction in Newnan, Heard, Coweta counties
Featured Stories, News March 30, 2021
NEWNAN COUNTY, Ga. – Late Thursday evening and into the early morning hours of Friday an E4 tornado that experts say was more than one mile wide and packed winds of 170 mph ripped through Newnan, Coweta and Heard counties, spreading devastation as it went.
When catastrophic weather events like that occur, it takes hundreds, even thousands, of first responders and volunteers to help the victims begin to put their lives back together.
On Saturday (Mar. 27), Forsyth County sent two utility trucks and two crews to assist in restoring power to the city of Newnan. Two Forsyth County Water & Sewer Department jet vac trucks, along with two crews, were used to assist in resetting power poles in the ground and constructing power lines.
One of the crews returned to Forsyth County on Sunday with the second crew assisting with the restoration of power utilities until Monday. Both crews reported devastation like they had never seen before.”
Gov. Brian Kemp toured the area over the weekend and declared a state of emergency. “As someone who’s responded to several storms in this state, this is different to anything I’ve ever seen,” he told the Newnan Times Herald.
Photos courtesy of Forsyth County Government
Public Safety opens shelter amid storm
News April 13, 2020
ELLIJAY, Ga. – Ravaged by a storm across North Georgia, counties across the region are responding tonight to provide for citizens as best as possible.
The Gilmer County Public Safety Department has enacted plans late this evening due to the storm.
A shelter has been opened for anyone displaced from their home, or otherwise needing a place to stay. The shelter is located at the Civic Center, 1561 S Main St.
Much of Gilmer County suffered high winds and heavy rainfall throughout the night. Outages for Amicalola alone reached a total outages number between 11,000 and 12,000. The vast majority of those were in Gilmer County, reading 7,210 just before 3:00 a.m. according to their site.
Families sheltered in bathrooms and safe zones just after 1:00 a.m. as emergency warnings and tv weather reports urged immediate action with a tornado warning.
While downed trees, power lines, and other wind damage have already been reported from the storm, no reports on any extreme damage have been seen yet.