🪚 Helene cleanup

Monday's here. Welcome back to another week.

Today's weather: Mostly sunny. High in the low 80s.

Situational awareness: Southwest Atlanta and south Fulton cities are under a boil water advisory after a pump station failure caused a widespread water outage last night.

🎂 Happy birthday to our Axios Atlanta member Tom Johnson!

Today's newsletter is 694 words — a 2.5 minute read.

People across Atlanta are sifting through damage and debris to rebuild their homes and lives after Tropical Storm Helene hit Georgia, killing 17 people in the state and at least 91 across the Southeast.

The latest: On Friday, City Hall announced new procedures to help speed along construction and storm repairs.

• Contractors and homeowners can request an inspection or contact the city's Office of Buildings via phone or in-person at City Hall to speed up the storm repair permit process.

Caveat: To remove a hazardous tree, first contact the city arborist and file the appropriate paperwork within five days.

• No permit is required for removing a fallen tree, though city officials say residents and businesses should take a photo before removal. Read the specific rules.

State of play: City officials expect to clear downed trees from rights of way by Weds., Oct. 2, "though timelines may change based on call volume."

• Call 311 during business hours to report non-emergency downed trees and 911 after-hours.

Zoom in: Peachtree and Nancy creeks spilled over their banks, flooding homes and apartments, washing out roads and trapping people in homes.

Stunning stat: Atlanta recorded the highest rainfall on record spanning 48 hours, according to the Georgia Climate Office's post on X.

• The city received 11.12 inches of rain over the last two days, shattering the previous record of 9.59 inches back in 1886.

Zoom out: "This storm spared no one," Gov. Brian Kemp said at a press conference on Saturday.

• Hardest hit was the eastern side of the state, from Augusta down to Valdosta, where Helene ripped up countless trees, downed power lines, disrupted water access and destroyed buildings.
• At least 17 people in Georgia died, mostly from fallen trees, including a 27-year-old mother and her twin 1-month-old boys after one fell on their McDuffie County home.
• More than half a million Georgians spent the weekend without power, many expecting to wake up this morning still waiting for the lights to turn back on.

The big picture: The death toll across the region could very well rise, particularly in western North Carolina, where cellphone outages and washed out roads have hindered wellness checks and rescue efforts.

• Last night, North Carolina officials announced there were at least 30 people killed in Buncombe County — where Asheville is located — alone.

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Tropical Storm Helene brought Atlanta's first-ever "flash flood emergency" warning from the National Weather Service, and neighborhoods from Peachtree Creek to Buckhead saw significant damage and life-threatening conditions.

Why it matters: The city endured its wettest three-day period in 104 years, FOX 5 Atlanta reports.

Here are some photos from around the city, as Atlanta began the process of assessing a storm that will likely go down as one of the most damaging hurricanes on record in the U.S.

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Ann E Holder's high school counselor told her the military wasn't for women. Those words fueled her during service.

Today, that same passion for helping others shines through in her role as CEO of Marani Health, a company striving for better outcomes for mothers and their babies.

Read her story.

In typical nail-biter fashion, the Falcons defeated conference rivals Saints 26-24 with literally seconds to spare yesterday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

😩 Kristal's thought bubble: Watching both the UGA and Falcons games this weekend was not good for my blood pressure.

🚨 17,000 people living in Conyers were displaced or under a shelter in place order yesterday after a fire at the nearby BioLab chemical plant forced evacuations. It's the third fire at the plant in the past seven years. (AJC)

The National Weather Service's Greenville-Spartanburg office expressed condolences and solidarity with their communities after Helene caused unprecedented damage to east Georgia and the Carolinas. (Axios)

🎶 Damsel, a cabaret dinner club, has closed six months after opening at The Works in Underwood Hills. (Rough Draft Atlanta)

🚑 Children's Healthcare of Atlanta on Sunday moved its patients from Egleston Hospital to a new facility on North Druid Hills Road. (AJC)

🪴 After almost three years of serving customers, PlantHouse announced it close its Decatur shop on Oct. 26. (Decaturish)

At Wellstar, we're committed to enhancing the health and wellness of everyone we serve. That means helping the individuals who walk through our doors and meeting our neighbors right where they are.

Discover free or low-cost local resources for your well-being with Wellstar Find Help.

👋 Join us tomorrow at 9am to discuss how to continue Georgia's clean energy growth, featuring Georgia Public Service Commission commissioner Tim Echols, Atlanta's chief sustainability officer Chandra Farley and Metro Atlanta Chamber senior director Cynthia Curry.

• RSVP here.

🌊 Thomas is watching videos of how Tropical Storm Helene turned north Georgia waterways from flowing into raging.

🙏🏽 Kristal hopes everyone is doing OK after Helene battered Georgia, Florida, Tennessee and the Carolinas.