Telfair County residents are struggling in the wake of Hurricane Helene

TELFAIR COUNTY, Ga. – Hurricane Helene has hit Telfair County hard.

Lee Conner, director of the Emergency Management Agency, said he and his team have spent the last 72 hours responding to multiple emergencies. including fires, gas leaks and street cleaning. He said they were far from finished.

They have confirmed that one person is dead after suffering a heart attack while cutting through storm debris in their home. Conner's team also responded to four fires.

Jatori Powell is one of many Telfair County residents who didn't expect Helene to cause so much damage.

“I thought the storm was just going to rain a little bit, but for the most part it's actually something serious,” he said.

The entire city is still without power or cell service, and there is no telling when this will be the case again.

Conner said emergency calls were temporarily rerouted to Dodge County because most of Telfair's landlines were not working. He said people have no way to call for help, so it is difficult to locate those in need.

“We've been very busy between fires, gas leaks (and) car accidents, and especially communication and emergency call issues,” Conner said.

In the district there is not only communication. Conner said many streets were blocked by large fallen trees and power lines, making it difficult for people in the city to get around.

However, Chuck Harrelson of Telfair maneuvered around the road wreckage to see what was left of his business, Quality Tire Service. He said he has been running it for 26 years and although the building is old, it's hard to imagine it being in such poor condition.

“I hate it,” Harrelson said. “I don’t know what we’re supposed to do about it.”

Conner said his team will continue to focus on making sure people are safe, and in the meantime, people should try to stay off the streets. He said they had no idea when electricity and cell service would be restored in the area.

Conner said Telfair County is far from recovering. Given the difficulty of responding to emergencies and the extensive damage, Telfair residents are overwhelmed.

“We’re just overwhelmed,” he said. “I have never seen anything so devastating. I never thought I would do this, especially in middle Georgia. You can't walk down a street, you can't walk down a street that does that.” There isn't a tree to cut down or a power line to take down.

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