Thousands of households are without power and many roads are blocked by fallen trees or power lines after a major storm hit Athens on Thursday night.
In-town neighborhoods with older trees like Cobbham and Five Points were particularly hard hit, according to Mayor Kelly Girtz, but Georgia Power is also reporting outages in Normaltown, Forest Heights, East Athens, Winterville and on the Eastside.
The Athens-Clarke County government is urging people to be cautious when traveling. Treat non-working traffic lights as four-way stops, and call the ACC Streets and Drainage Division to report blocked roads at 706-613-3465.
The University of Georgia is open, but UGA also urged caution in traveling through campus:
“Campus is open, but after last night’s intense storm, there are a few roadways that are still blocked by fallen trees: Field Street to Cedar, and Lumpkin from Smith Street to Alpha Chi Omega. There are also some buildings along the west side of Lumpkin from Morris Hall to the Office of Global Engagement that are without power. However, buildings at the Baxter/Lumpkin intersection—including Bolton Dining Commons and the Business Learning Community—do have power. The east side of the roadway, including the Tate Center, Miller Learning Center and Georgia Center, appear to be unaffected.”
Girtz said Georgia Power expects electricity to be restored to most households by midnight Saturday.
Despite speculation that the damage was caused by a tornado, the National Weather Service said Athens was hit by straight-line winds of up to 69 miles per hour, according to the Athens Banner-Herald.
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