South Georgians respond to storm damage - WALB.com, Albany News, Weather, Sports

South Georgians continue to be called on to help with the aftermath and cleanup from Hurricane Sandy. As hundreds of Georgia electrical linemen begin work to help restore power to storm victims, the Flint River Chapter of the American Red Cross is calling for more volunteers.

Hurricane Sandy drove thousands from their homes in the Northeast, and with power cut to millions more the American Red Cross knows shelters are the first priority.

The Flint River Chapter in Southwest Georgia held a volunteer calldown today, with an urgent need for more trained shelter operators.

"We had 258 open last night with over 11,000 people in them in 16 different states. So sheltering is our number one concern," said Red Cross Flint River Chapter Executive Director Lara Gill.

They are seeking trained shelter volunteers who are available to leave in the next four days, and have to be able to stay for two weeks.

Georgia Power is in the process of sending about 200 additional linemen and equipment to storm damaged areas in Maryland and Pennsylvania. The utility company already had 340 people on standby.

The Georgia Electric Membership Corporation has sent 130 employees from 16 EMCs across the state to coastal regions of Maryland and Virginia. These are seven employees from Mitchell EMC who left Sunday, and started work today in Maryland clearing trees from roadways and power lines, replacing broken poles, and stringing new wire.

"Our crews are helping Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative and are working  near St. Charles, Maryland," said Evera S. Moye, VP of Marketing & Member Services for Mitchell EMC.

"Although it has been raining and  is very cold, fortunately they are in an area that has not had ice,  and they are hoping the temperatures will not continue to drop.  The rain has slacked up this afternoon.   Fortunately, this area was a little south of the major brunt of the storm,  and  our crews may be moving northward to areas that had more devastation.  This coop has 150,000 customers and less than 10,000 without power.  But, they were glad to see all the help from Georgia arrive."  

Georgia Church disaster relief organizations such as the United Methodist Committee on Relief and the Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief Organization say their volunteers are on standby, and prepared to help when called.

Southwest Georgia Regional Airport is quiet again today, as air travelers seem to be heeding advice to stay put. "The air system is such a massive puzzle with lots of working parts. And when any part of that gets disturbed, it creates a domino effect for people down the road," said Airport Director Yvette Aehle.

All flights in and out of Albany have been on time, but many flights from Atlanta have been delayed or canceled, and that is expected to continue for days.

The Georgia EMC's say they are not anticipating sending any more crews to the Northeast today. Georgia Power says they are still evaluating requests from power companies, to see what they can do. The Southwest Georgia American Red Cross has two volunteers delivering an emergency response vehicle in Virginia this evening.

To help, call 1 800 RED CROSS, or www.redcross.org , or visit their Albany office on Pine Avenue.

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