Decatur, DeKalb Schools Make Decision On Thursday Classes: Hurricane Irma

DECATUR, GA -- As metro Atlanta recuperates from the effects of Hurricane Irma, the DeKalb County School District has decided to cancel classes for Thursday, Sept. 14. Of all of metro Atlanta, DeKalb was hit especially hard due to the storm's driving rain and strong winds, which caused mass power outages in the area.

A decision on classes from the City of Decatur Schools system was still pending Wednesday afternoon. The system said: "We still have four schools with no power, but we finally have a Georgia Power crew assigned to three of those four schools, and they are assessing the fourth. Numerous roads are still blocked throughout Decatur. I am still cautiously optimistic that we will be able to have school tomorrow. We are working on contingency plans for a situation where two schools still don't have power. A decision will be made no later than 8 pm tonight." (SIGN UP: Get Patch's Daily Newsletter and Real Time News Alerts. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app.)

Read more: ''Please stay inside': Irma wallops Florida

The area is recovering after Gov. Nathan Deal expanded a state of emergency for all of Georgia's 159 counties. as Irma closed in. All state government offices were closed Monday and Tuesday for all employees except essential personnel. Many of those offices re-opened on Wednesday.

Georgia Power said Wednesday morning that about 360,000 of its customers still were without electricity. Georgia EMC, an electrical membership cooperative serving much of the state, reported another 232,000 people in the dark Wednesday morning.

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As the storm left Georgia, South Carolina was expected to experience high winds and heavy rains, raising the possibility of several hazards, including downed trees and power lines.

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