Significant storm damage was reported in South Cobb from yesterday’s storm. The damage was concentrated in an area within the limits of the recently incorporated City of Mableton, but with Austell addresses.

A public information release from the county describes the damage as follows:

“A fast-moving storm rolled through Cobb County on January 12, damaging dozens of homes and businesses, and closing multiple roadways. 

“The most significant reports came from the Austell area, where damage reports were concentrated around the Oak Ridge Parkway / Blairs Bridge Road area. 

“Damage assessment in that area will continue into the night.  No significant injuries have been reported.”

As of 6:30 p.m. yesterday evening, the county reports the following (all bulleted reports are from the county’s website):

• 911 calls from the Austell came in around 3:30 pm, reporting significant damage.  This included the warehouse on Oak Ridge Parkway, where the side of the building caved in.
• Firefighters went street to street in the neighborhoods around Ivy Log Drive.  They have found 18 homes with damage; 14 of those have damage significant enough that the Red Cross will assist the residents. (Editor’s note: the Fire and Emergency Services public information officer wrote the Courier in an email that the number of damaged homes has been updated to 21 this morning).
• Cobb DOT continues to clear downed trees countywide; as of this writing, they have cleared 25 roads and assisted in clearing 11 flooded roadways.
• We anticipate a National Weather Service team will join our EMA crews to look at the damage, but there were no active Tornado Warnings for the area at the time, and there is a possibility this was a straight-line wind event.

Background

The storm damage in the county was the result of a line of fast-moving severe storms that passed through the county yesterday afternoon prompting the National Weather Service to issue a wind advisory.