Brookhaven Opens An Emergency Operations Center: Hurricane Irma

BROOKHAVEN, GA -- As Atlanta crawled to a standstill to ride out waves of pounding rain from Hurricane Irma, the city of Brookhaven was launching into action, creating an Emergency Operations Center at City Hall about 11 a.m. Monday, the city said. The move allowed responses to Irma's inclement weather to be coordinated from one central post in Brookhaven.

“We hope the damage from the storm will be minimal, but we need to be prepared to respond as efficiently as possible if conditions deteriorate,” City Manager Christian Sigman said in a news release. (SIGN UP: Get Patch's Daily Newsletter and Real Time News Alerts. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app.)

“The rain and wind carry the potential for downed trees and flooding. We are mobilizing resources to respond as needed," Sigman said.

Watch: Hurricane Irma Weakens To A Tropical Storm, But It's Still Dangerous

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City services remained closed Monday as the storm sent lashing rain across the region. “In an abundance of caution for our employees and our residents, all City administrative functions will be suspended on Monday,” said Sigman. “This does not apply to the police, public works and communications departments. They are expected to be on call 24/7.”

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In addition, DeKalb County's administrative offices were shut Monday and will be closed Tuesday as well. The county's sanitation collection was suspended Monday but a decision had not been made about Tuesday

Image via Brookhaven