Storms Hit Oconee

have downed trees and caused power outages in Oconee County.

The Oconee County Sheriff's Office and other first responders are answering  emergency calls as quickly as possible, according to a post by Chief Deputy Lee Weems on Facebook.  From 7 p.m. until 8:30 p.m., the 911 Center recieved over 500 phone calls, he wrote.

Road department crews are working to clear roadways and the fire department is responding to more than a dozen calls for assistance, authorities reported.

Georgia Power has reported over 200,000 outages statewide and as of 8 p.m., no restoration times were available. Update (9:30 p.m.): 14,000 customers in the Athens area are without power.

reported about 11,000 customers with outages at 8:15 p.m., 107 of those in Oconee County.  Update (10 p.m.): 734 in Oconee are without power.

"Crews will work through the night," a post on Walton EMC's Facebook page stated. "Hope to have majority restored by midnight, but will probably be up into the day tomorrow for some isolated cases."

The Sheriff's office reminds residents to contact their power companies to report outages instead of calling emergency numbers.

If you are a Georgia Power customer and need to report a power outage, visit the website or call 1-888-891-0938.

To report an outage to Walton EMC, visit the website or call 770-267-2505.

Oconee County remains under a severe thunderstorm watch until 11 p.m.