DREMC’s crews head toward the hurricane-raged southeast to assist in rebuilding electric infrastructure in Georgia.
Twelve DREMC linemen and two supervisor/managers volunteered to head to Southern Georgia and sister-electric cooperative Colquitt Electric Membership Corporation to assist with Hurricane Michael recovery efforts.
The close to Category 5 strength hurricane brought what is described as catastrophic damage leaving over 900,000 without power in Florida, Alabama, Georgia and the Carolinas. Winds from the Category 4 hurricane reached 155 mph at landfall in hardest-hit Mexico Beach. Significant rainfall fell in the northern Gulf Coast continues Thursday as the storm pounded the northeast, dumping heavy rains on North and South Carolina that are still struggling to recover from Hurricane Florence last month.
“Strong storms like this can leave thousands of people without power for days and sometimes weeks,” says DREMC President and CEO Michael Watson. “We are proud of our linemen for volunteering to assist. They will be working long days in difficult and dangerous conditions, but they were quick to respond to the call for help. We ask that everyone keep them and their families in your thoughts and prayers while they are away.”
DREMC crews arrived in Moultrie, Georgia, where Colquitt EMC is headquartered. It is unclear how long DREMC crews will be in Georgia.
