Heard County Hailpocalypse 2013 Update

Some sense of normalcy seems to be returning to the local area tonight as power has been restored to many local areas including Heard Elementary School which remained without power until around 8:00 pm this evening after a line of heavy storms moved through Monday evening.

High winds and large hail caused significant damage to power lines in several local areas.

Superintendent Jerry Prince is reporting that all schools will be opened tomorrow as normal. A spokesperson with Georgia Power told HeardCitizen.com moments ago that only three customers remain without power in Heard County including two in Franklin and one with a Roopville address.

A Carroll EMC spokesperson indicated that 102 people remain without service in Heard County as of 9:00 pm.

The company also released the following statement this evening on their facebook page:

Thank you all again for being patient as we work tirelessly to restore power. Many people around the state don’t realize the magnitude of last night’s storm. In our service territory, we have experienced damage to our circuits that exceeds the infamous “Mother’s Day tornados” a few years ago and almost equals that of Hurricane Opal. In essence, last night’s storm was more powerful in that the damage done in less than one hour was equaled to what took Opal’s aftermath to do over many days.

While some Members may have only experienced a short rainfall, others have holes in the sides of their houses where their meter boxes were ripped out. All of the damage Carroll EMC is trying to repair is physical damage due to our lines and has nothing to do with our infrastructure, technology or staffing. While we are planning to continue receiving aid from brethren co-ops, it could be well into the night before our remaining Members’ outages are repaired. If anyone has critical medical needs that are subject to electricity use, we strongly suggest they consult with their medical provider.

Please also know that most of the employees of Carroll EMC are also Members and many are still without power at their homes and have been away from their families going on 36 hours now while trying to serve other Members. We certainly empathize with any frustration as we approach the first 24 hour mark of restoration efforts. ~Carroll EMC

A tree fell on a power line on Franklin Parkway between Hardee’s and Texaco late Tuesday afternoon causing one lane of traffic to be closed off to traffic for a short time while crews removed the fallen debris.

Local roofing contractors and body shops reported a heavy volume of customers today. Stay tuned to HeardCitizen.com for any further updates as they become available.