Following the storms brought on by Hurricane Delta over the weekend, the City of Demorest has declared a local state of emergency. “I don’t think it takes much for anybody to understand what we’ve been through,” says Mayor Rick Austin. The declaration takes the safety and well being of citizens and the city of Demorest, as well as Habersham County’s local state of emergency, into consideration in current decisions and emergency service protocols.
“The city’s very fortunate. We had no loss of life,” Councilman John Hendrix said. “I’d like to say ‘thank you’ to all our public works [department] and all of the people who’ve done everything they can to help, and help everyone. Brian Popham and his group have been working tirelessly, sometimes 40 hours at a time. […] Kim [Simonds], our city manager, has been on the phone […] constantly, and the mayor’s been out about doing all he can. We appreciate everyone’s efforts.”
Austin echoed these sentiments, thanking public works and public safety for all they’ve done since Saturday to keep Demorest afloat.
“Brian [Popham] and those folks have worked their rear ends off with our public safety […]. They did things that, generally, public safety doesn’t have to do,” Austin said. “They’ve [dragged] trees, cut trees, washed mud off of roads, they’ve done an awful lot of stuff. We need to be proud of our entire team. And so we are, we give you our thanks.”
Boil Water Advisory
A Boil Water Advisory remains in effect for Demorest water customers who lost service during the storm or since. “We hope to be able to lift it sometime tomorrow [Wednesday] and will publicize it widely when we do,” says City Manager Kim Simonds.
As of late Tuesday, Simonds says there were “two small areas” that remained without water. “Our crews are still working diligently at this hour to restore their service.” She says those repairs have been hampered by the destruction of the roads.
Rushing water from creeks and streams washed away dirt from underneath several roads in the city, causing the roads to collapse.
