Louisiana residents in GA. weighing when to return

About five hundred of the evacuees from Hurricane Gustav are waiting out the hurricane in Georgia. Some three hundred of them are being hosted at Villa Rica, not far from the Alabama state line.

Red Cross and local volunteers here are providing cots, hot meals and showers for the displaced families.

The exhausted evacuees, many of with them children and elderly family members, are taking shelter in a gym and meeting rooms at a local recreation center.

One of them is Kenner, Louisiana, resident Nolan Eugene, who arrived in a convoy with friends:

"Everybody runnin' from that hurricane, but it done now passed over now, and I'm ready to get back home (laughs). We could leave out tonight, instead of spending another night here – I don't know… six carloads of us got to make a decision."

Villa Rica is one of five shelters the Red Cross has opened statewide including Columbus, La Grange, Lawrenceville and Tift County.

Click here for more GPB News coverage or Hurricane Gustav.

Evacuees waiting out Gustav in Ga.

About five hundred of the evacuees from Hurricane Gustav have taken refuge in Georgia. Some three hundred of them are being hosted at Villa Rica, west of Atlanta.

Many of the evacuees arrived at the center, not far from the Alabama state line, in convoys after an all-night drive.

Lisa Matheson of the Red Cross says they’re sheltering them in a gym at a local recreation center:

“This is where we have approximately 250 cots set up to take in the evacuees. We were very fortunate in this shelter, that we had several ancillary rooms where we could take the overflow to accommodate the nearly 300 people who are here.”

The evacuees are being given three meals a day, recreation facilities and medical assistance is they need it.

Villa Rica is one of six shelters the Red Cross has opened statewide, including Columbus, Dalton, La Grange, Lawrenceville and Tift County.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of Hurricane Gustav, and other severe weather.

Water advisory remains for DeKalb County

Dekalb County officials have extended a boil water advisory for residents in Decatur, Avondale, Chamblee, and Doraville for at least the next two days. Residents are being told to continue boiling their tap water before drinking, bathing, cooking, or brushing teeth. The advisory was first issued Tuesday after severe storms knocked out power at the Scott Chandler Water Plant. The outage resulted in a loss of water pressure. For more information go to www.dekalbwatershed.com

State of emergency for Cherokee Co.

Governor Sonny Perdue declared a state of emergency for Cherokee County following Tuesday’s severe storms. The move allows state resources to help with cleanup efforts. State officials estimate the storms caused more than $5 million in damage. No serious injuries were reported.

Macon mayor declares 'state of emergency'

Macon Mayor Robert Reichert, declared a state of emergency in the city on Sunday at 09:40, as a result of severe storms overnight.

Reichert said that he faxed Governor Sonny Perdue, and requested that the state declare the affected areas a disaster area. He asked that rescue equipment and additional police forces be sent to the city.

Lisa Janak with the Georgia Emergency Management Agency, said Perdue was appraised of the situation.

"The federal government will be moving hard to help," President Bush said. "I'll be in touch with the governors and offer all of the federal assistance we can."

Speaking with WMAZ tv, Reichert asked residents to stay home and off the streets. He also asked residents to avoid the southern and western parts of the city, where the majority of the damage occurred. He said that traffic lights in those areas were down, which had caused significant traffic snarls.

Reichert said one of the city's main water pumping stations was not working, due to a power outage. He asked residents to conserve water, not to shower, and close all faucets until emergency crews restored power.

He also asked that residents limit cellphone use, in order to allow emergency services access to frequencies, adding that the system in the area had collapsed from the overload.

Two people were killed from the storms in nearby areas.

Janek said one person died in Laurens. Authorities report another dead in Kite, from the storms. Authorities have not yet identified the fatalities.

Janek said 19 counties were affected.

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Severe storms leave two dead

Blown out windows can be seen behind the rubble of a heavily damaged building in downtown Atlanta, caused by a tornado which struck the area late Friday night. (AP Photo/Phil Coale)

At least two people have died in Polk and Floyd counties from powerful storms near the state border with Alabama. The latest severe weather comes after a Tornado with winds of up to 130 miles per hour trashed downtown Atlanta last night. At least 27 people were hurt.

Governor Sonny Perdue and Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin declared a state of emergency in several areas in Atlanta.

Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine estimated damage from Friday night's storm at $150 million to $200 million, most of it at the Georgia World Congress Center, a state convention facility near the CNN Center and the Georgia Dome.

People walk away from the Omni Hotel in downtown Atlanta Saturday morning. The hotel was damaged from a tornado which struck the area late Friday night. (AP Photo/Phil Coale)

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the storm damage in downtown Atlanta Friday evening.

Click here for tornado and severe weather alerts from the National Weather Service for the Atlanta area and statewide.

(The Associated Press)

Tuesday storm damage estimates revised

State insurance officials have revised the estimate of damage done from Tuesday’s storms and tornadoes to 15-million dollars. Georgia’s insurance commissioner says now 13-hundred homes have some level of damage--from either broken windows to total losses. He says destruction was more severe than first reported in Carrollton and Bowdon. Two tornadoes were reported to have touched down in Carrollton Tuesday morning. Severe storms extended east through the metro Atlanta area.