Savannah cleans-up after powerful storm

Residents in sections of Savannah are in cleanup-mode this morning, following a powerful and destructive thunderstorm that ripped through parts of the city yesterday afternoon. Downed trees and electrical lines, along with some damaged homes were part of the mix. Georgia Power officials estimate around 31-thousand customers lost power during the storm.

On dead in overnight storms (updated 6PM)

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At least one person died after severe storms cut a swath through Georgia, downing trees and damaging homes and businesses in multiple counties.

Lisa Janak with the Georgia Emergency Management Agency said one person died in Laurens, downgrading an earlier report of two fatalities.

Authorities had reported a second fatality in Kite earlier today. The status of the second reported fatality is unclear as of this posting.

Janek said 19 counties were affected, as of Sunday at 1 PM.

Macon Mayor Robert Reichert, declared a state of emergency in the city on Sunday at 09:40, and asked residents to stay home and off the streets. He said the majority of the damage was in the southern and western areas of the city, and asked residents to avoid those areas.

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

Click here for more on that story.

The National Weather Service reports numerous cases of damage to homes, business and other structures in several counties from overnight storms. There were many reports of downed power lines and trees, as well.

At least 80,000 residents were without electricity across the state, as of Sunday morning, mostly concentrated in the metro Atlanta area and the Macon area, according to Georgia Power officials.

(with the Associated Press)

One dead in overnight storms

Authorities say one person is dead in central Georgia after severe storms cut a swath through the state, downing trees and damaging homes and businesses in multiple counties.

Lisa Janak with the Georgia Emergency Management Agency said other minor injuries have been reported after the early Sunday morning storms. Authorities have not yet identified the person who died in Dublin, which is just south of Macon.

Weather officials have not yet confirmed if any of the Georgia storms produced tornadoes.

Georgia Power officials say at least 80,000 residents are without electricity across the state, mostly concentrated in the metro Atlanta area and the Macon area.

The violent storm system that ripped through Georgia left at least 18 people dead in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Missouri on Saturday.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of severe weather conditions statewide.

(The Associated Press)

Severe Weather Warnings for Parts of Georgia (Friday)

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AT 532 PM EDT...A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUED TO MOVE ACROSS EASTERN CHEROKEE...WESTERN FORSYTH...AND EXTREME NORTHERN FULTON COUNTIES. THIS LINE HAS WEAKENED CONSIDERABLY AND IS NO LONGER DETECTED TO BE SEVERE. HEAVY RAIN...PEA-SIZED HAIL...AND WIND GUSTS TO 40 MPH ARE STILL POSSIBLE WITH THIS ACTIVITY AS IT MOVES EAST AT 35 MPH. OTHER LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO DUCKTOWN...DREW...MATT AND CUMMING. A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1000 PM EDT FRIDAY EVENING FOR NORTHERN GEORGIA.

Click here for National Weather Service weather updates for Georgia.

Official: at least 10-million in damage from Tuesday storms

Cleanup is underway this morning in areas of Georgia hit hard by the severe storms of Tuesday morning. The state’s top insurance official puts the early estimate of insured damage at around 10-million dollars, with damage done to about one-thousand homes. Officials say two tornadoes touched down in Carroll County causing the bulk of the damage. Across other areas of north Georgia, downed trees damaged some homes and cars. The height of the storm caused a loss of power to nearly 100-thouand homes Tuesday.