Habersham County Officials are mapping out a plan to repair half a dozen roads damaged by Tropical Depression Fred.
On Wednesday, the county released details of the storm’s impact.
There was major flooding on six roads including Chase Road, Garrison Drive, and Alonzo Wade Road on the south end of the county and East and West Glade Creek Roads near Clarkesville.
“At this time, Chase Road has been repaired and the rest are pending repair,” says county public information officer Carolyn Gibson. She says Alonzo Wade Road is the only road that is washed out, adding, an estimated time for repairs is pending.
According to Habersham County Public Works, trees fell on thirty roads stretching south to north from Alto to Clarkesville. As of Wednesday morning, crews had cleared all of the roadways.
Aware there could be more damage out there not yet detected, Gibson says anyone needing to report poor road conditions should email her at [email protected].
“Habersham County would like to express appreciation to the public for their patience yesterday and in the days to come as repairs are completed,” she says.
‘We give as much warning as we receive’
The severe weather kept first responders and road crews in the county and Habersham’s seven municipalities busy. At the height of the storm, between 10 a.m. and noon on August 17, Habersham County E-911 handled 382 calls. Most were about road hazards. Habersham County Emergency Management Agency Director Lynn Smith says many were repeat calls from different people about the same problems.
“Overall I believe everything was handled as it came in,” Smith tells Now Habersham. “We were short-staffed and had to call in extra personnel, as I think most did. We were able to stay on top of most of it and some did have to wait depending on priority level.”
While 911 operators fielded phone calls, EMA officials kept the public informed. Smith distributed ongoing National Weather alerts to local media and the public. At 10:36 a.m., her office sounded the alarm that a tornado was on the ground in Banks County headed for Habersham.
“We give as much warning as we receive,” she says. EMA kept the tornado sirens sounding until the danger passed. “I hope that was helpful in helping people make a decision as to the severity of the weather and what to do.”
Monitoring the weather
Many people heeded public safety advice and stayed off the roads. They also monitored the weather which, during a severe event like Tuesday’s, is crucial.
In addition to the traditional tornado sirens, which not all residents can hear, most counties now have public alert systems via text or phone calls. Habersham, White, and Rabun counties use the CodeRed system, Banks County uses 911Swift, Stephens uses the Alert system, and Hall County uses Citizen’s Alert.
Other counties in Northeast Georgia use a variety of other public alert systems. (To enroll in these services, click on the links above or visit your county’s website and search for ‘public alerts.’)
“My advice is to listen to the warnings. If you know things are bad, stay home or go to a safe place before the weather hits,” Smith says. “When it hits is too late.”
Fortunately, even with all of the anxiety and mess that Fred caused in Habersham and surrounding counties, there were no reports of any injuries.
