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Hurricane Helene lost little to none of its power as it crossed through the Southeast United States in late September. Ravaging four states, the destruction Helene caused has rarely been to the extent as seen by previous hurricanes, and many lost lives as well as livelihoods. To this day debris litters roads and what were once homes and buildings now lay rubble and memories.
Nevertheless, recovery efforts have long since been underway and part of these efforts entail debris cleanup, especially from highways. Georgia's Department of Transportation (DOT) has done extensive work in clearing out the debris from important highway routes, cutting down the list of about 98 state routes closed due to debris by about half. Many of the damages were caused by utlitly lines entangled with trees that fell, meaning it is necessary for the DOT to wait until it is deemed safe before they can handle and clear the damages.
Cell towers were also hit, hampering communications in heavily hit Lowndes County and other counties east of Interstate 75. Generators have been temporarily implemented to restore communications while contractors come in and help reinstall permanent ones. However, these generators are important because they are used to power dark intersections on dark hurricane evacuation routes and high-volume intersections.
Work is constantly being done to help those recover from the hurricane devastation. To find out more information about how to help Georgia Department of Transportation, click on the link.
