September 30, 2024
To update all the citizens of the City Limits of Hephzibah.
I hope everyone is safe and well. I know that there is a lot of work in front of us as we make repairs to the Electric Grid and clean up the devastation in our community.
The morning Helene passed through our areas, as soon as it was safe to do so, we mobilized all available City employees and numerous volunteers. I want to thank everyone that assisted.
Unfortunately, we suffered the loss of one life as a direct result of the storm. We also had one of the Hephzibah Police Officers critically injured in a traffic accident responding to help a neighboring agency. Please keep these individuals and their families in your prayers.
We immediately went to work opening the roadways and streets within the city limits so that emergency vehicles and electrical workers would have full access to our citizens.
We started generators at the well to ensure that we maintained a safe water supply for household use and fire protection.
As we were able to travel the City and determine the severity of the damage I reached out to Storm Services and provided our Agricultural Center Arena as a staging area for 1500 linemen and electrical workers. We have a large number of assets that are working feverishly to restore power to our community.
We have reached out to FEMA about debris removal and we are waiting to hear back from them. We will communicate their response soon.
Please be patient and know that we are going to get through this together.
If you have any needs, questions, or concerns please try to reach out to City Hall (706-592-4423) or Fire Station 1 (706-592-4511 Option 1). If you cannot get through on the phone due to a service outage, you can email cityofhephzibah@bellsouth.net. The staff will do their best to respond as quickly as possible.
For non-emergency dispatch call 706-821-1080. For emergencies please call 911.
Sincerely,
Chairman, Robert J. Buchwitz
