Georgia officials hunting "storm-chaser" contractors

One of the results of the EF-2 tornado that plowed through Macon on May 11th: a resident salvages belongings in a demolished building in the city's business district. (Josephine Bennet)

The State of Georgia is cracking down on “fly-by-night” contractors who don't take proper care of their workers.

The State Board of Workers' Compensation arrested several subcontractors in Macon and the Bibb County area this week.

The collars are part of a sweep to enforce state laws requiring employers to insure their crews.

Stan Bexley heads the board's enforcement division:

“As a result of the sweep thus far, we've had five criminal warrants issued, three arrests have been made and seven premium fraud cases have been opened for further investigation.”

Bexley warns homeowners to watch out for so-called “storm-chasers,” who arrive after bad weather, do shoddy repairs with substandard parts, and then take off without guaranteeing their work.

SBWC officials are focusing on areas that were hard-hit by a string of tornadoes on May 11th that caused several million dollars in damage.

More information is available at the SBWC website.http://tiny.cc/aB1bT.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the damages caused by the tornadoes.

Macon: scenes of destruction

Photos of the twister's aftermath along Eisenhower Parkway near Pio Nono Avenue, one of Macon's business districts. (All photos: Josephine Bennet, WMUM 89.7 FM, Macon)










Thousands of Georgia residents, most in Macon, are still without power this morning in the wake of destructive storms that moved through the state early Sunday morning.

Click here for more GPB News reports about the tornado's swath of destruction through central Georgia.

Stormy weather forces street re-closures in Atlanta

Police and fire officials in Atlanta re-closed several streets in a section of the downtown area yesterday, and many still remained closed early this morning. The reason is the possibility of falling glass and debris from some buildings in the midst of another weather system that moved through the area yesterday. Strong winds and rain hit the area Wednesday, and winds were still a concern into Thursday. Atlanta is continuing its cleanup and repair from last Friday’s destructive tornado that ripped through a six-mile section of the city.