Thousands of people are without power, trees and powerlines are down, and roads and schools are closed across south Georgia as Hurricane Hermine moves through that part of the state.
State transportation officials say that some state and federal highways are closed in south Georgia because of storm debris, downed trees and traffic signal problems.
The Georgia Department of Transportation Friday morning said that a section of U.S. Highway 41 in Lowndes County was blocked by downed trees and power lines In Mitchell County, State Route 270 was blocked due to a tree down across the road and a traffic crash.
The emergency manager in Tift County says there are widespread reports of trees and power lines down in that area which is just north of Valdosta. The Tift County Emergency Management Agency said in a statement around dawn Friday that most of the outages were on the south and west sides of the county. The agency was warning motorists not to drive over any line crossing the roadway.
Meanwhile, several electric cooperates that serve rural areas of south Georgia are reporting thousands of power outages, adding to more than 50,000 outages reported by Georgia Power.
The Satilla Rural Electric Membership Cooperative reported more than 2,300 outages shortly after dawny, with most of them in Atkinson County. The Okefenoke Rural Electric Membership Cooperative reported that there were more than 2,000 outages in Glynn County on Georgia's coast; and nearly 1,000 more outages in Camden County. Georgia Power reports that more than 50,000 of its customers were without power statewide just after dawn Friday.
Emergency officials are looking into a report of a possible tornado touching down at a gated golf community in Savannah.
Catherine Neal, a spokeswoman for the Chatham County Emergency Management Agency, said residents of The Landings called 911 to report a possible tornado before 6 a.m. Friday. The upscale community is located on Skidaway Island in east Savannah.
Neal said responders found downed trees and structural damage in the area, but there were no known injuries.
