160K Georgia Power Customers Without Electricity In DeKalb: Hurricane Irma

DUNWOODY, GA -- More than 160,000 Georgia Power customers were without electricity Tuesday morning in DeKalb County as trees fell and area roads were rendered unpassable, local officials said. On Wednesday, Sept. 13, DeKalb will pick up storm debris from homes, including tree branches, yard trimmings and leaves.

The county will pick up all branches and limbs provided they be trimmed no longer than four feet and stacked neatly on the curbside or put in a proper receptacle. Trees must be cut to be no heavier than 50 pounds, DeKalb said. (SIGN UP: Get Patch's Daily Newsletter and Real Time News Alerts. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app.)

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In Brookhaven 31 roads were "blocked or compromised" due to the storm, officials said. In Decatur and DeKalb, officials worked to bring things to normalcy, including debris pickup. "All yard trimmings must be properly prepared for collection and placed in approved 20- to 40- gallon receptacles," DeKalb said in a news release. "Approved receptacles include durable metal and plastic containers, durable biodegradable paper bags and must have two durable handles. Paper bags should be folded at the top to minimize rain deteriorating the paper bags. Yard trimmings placed in plastic bags will not be collected."
Collection service in DeKalb will resume on Wednesday, Sept. 13.

Watch: FEMA Says Irma Clean-Up Will Be A Complex And Frustrating Process

In Atlanta, a tree was down on Northside Drive, but Georgia Power officials were aware of it.

"Please be mindful of fallen trees and down powered lines," the utility said on Facebook. "Our crews are working as quickly and safely as possible accessing the damage and restoring power."

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Much of DeKalb will get a respite from heavy rain for much of Tuesday, but it will return in the afternoon as the effects of Irma continue to move north, according to the National Weather Service.

DeKalb firefighters were in the process late Monday of putting additional emergency response units in service, officials said. The DeKalb government sent a message to residents to "shelter in place" as the weather deteriorated.

DeKalb firefighters were in the process late Monday of putting additional emergency response units in service, officials said. The DeKalb government sent a message to residents to "shelter in place" as the weather deteriorated.

Also, the South Fork Peachtree Creek and the North Fork Peachtree Creek were expected to reach flood stage by Monday evening, DeKalb officials said.
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30,000 people without power in DeKalb

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Public safety officials in Miami were still assessing the damage as millions of people were without power in South Florida. In Georgia, state emergency officials were encouraging evacuees -- whether they learned their home was intact or not — to stay in place.

image via DeKalb County PD / Twitter