“This is deja vu for me,” Tameka Allen said. For the second time in 11 years, Augusta’s new administrator takes on a disaster within days of taking office.
Friday’s news conference on Hurricane Helena had a somber tone. Augusta lost at least three lives in the storm, which toppled thousands of trees, caused widespread flooding and left most households without power and some without water.
It also caused the cancellation of Ironman Augusta, the half-triathlon scheduled for Sunday and a major economic driver, Mayor Garnett Johnson confirmed.
City officials had no answers for how long the power will be out or when the many trees will be removed from roads and homes, but assured the media Augusta will emerge from the disaster.
Sheriff Richard Roundtree urged residents to stay home and not to call 911 for non-emergencies.
With multiple fatalities, “this is a deadly storm for Augusta,” he said.
Misusing 911 or the roads “takes resources away from people that really need them,” the sheriff said.
Allen said she recalled the community spirit that showed when Augustans withstood Winter Storm Pax. The massive ice storm struck just days after she was named interim administrator in 2014.
It showed “what we do best here in Augusta, Ga., when we encounter a challenge, and that’s to work together,” Allen said.
Water shortages or low pressure are possible, she said. They are the result of Augusta’s effort to conserve its water supply during the storm’s aftermath, she said.
Congressman Rick Allen said he had to stop and look around his own neighborhood where many homes were damage and a close family friend was killed when a tree fell on her house.
Allen said the first priority will go toward removing trees that fell on houses.
“Be patient,” Rep. Brian Prince, D-Augusta, said. “It’s going to take everyone working together.
