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Hurricane Michael Update: Thousands Still Without Power

Around noon Saturday, the city posted to Facebook that about 500 city utility customers remained without power at that time.

(TNS) - Cleanup continues from Hurricane Michael, which struck South Georgia Wednesday evening through early Thursday morning.

In a Saturday afternoon Facebook post, the City of Moultrie reported about 60 downed trees in the city and more than 300 county-wide.

On the Colquitt County Board of Commissioners Facebook page, the county listed 19 roads as still being closed about 2 p.m. Saturday.

Power still out for many

Around noon Saturday, the city posted to Facebook that about 500 city utility customers remained without power at that time. The city’s post cited Colquitt County Emergency Management Director Russell Moody as saying about 18,000 county residents are without power.

“There are several thousand of our citizens still without power,” the county posted to Facebook about noon Saturday. “We have spoken with the utility companies and they are working around the clock to restore power where they can. Several crews from outside our region have been deployed to assist with the restoration process. Some of the damage is so severe that it requires a slow process by hand to repair power lines and poles. Please stay off or avoid roads where utility crews are working so that it does not slow down their progress. Please continue to keep our community and others who were in the path of this storm in your thoughts and prayers.”

Schools closed on Monday

The Colquitt County School System announced just before noon Friday that schools will be closed again on Monday.

“Colquitt County is still experiencing widespread power outages and damages,” School Superintendent Doug Howell said in an email announcement. “As of 11:30 a.m. Friday, there were still seven schools without power. A decision concerning Tuesday and Wednesday will be made over the weekend. The safety and security of our students and families will always come first.”

Howell’s email did not say which schools are still without power, and a school system official reached at home shortly afterwards did not have that information.

The school system provided no further information on Saturday.

Late Friday morning, Southern Regional Technical College announced that classes would start back on all its campuses except in Bainbridge on Monday.

Classes and midterm exams will go on as scheduled, the school said in a Facebook post.

Classes will resume at the Bainbridge location when power has been restored there, the post said.

The post included a note to online students: “All of our open campuses have computers with internet access that students may use free of charge. If you are without power, and unable to make it to a campus location, please contact your instructor(s) through your SRTC email.”

Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College is on fall break Monday and Tuesday, so classes are expected to resume on Wednesday.

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