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Cleanup begins after Hurricane Michael leaves behind damage in Georgia

By Richard Elliot, WSB-TV
By Richard Elliot, WSB-TV

ATLANTA — Gov. Nathan Deal has invited President Donald Trump to take a tour of hurricane damage in Georgia as cleanup begins after Hurricane Michael barreled into the state as a Category 3 storm.

Channel 2's Richard Elliot spoke to Deal and various state officials, who said their top priority is to clear the roads so power crews can get in and restore electricity.

Deal said he's gotten a federal emergency declaration in the state and hopes Trump may visit as early as next week.

"We do anticipate perhaps the president will come and view portions of our state that were affected," Deal said. "We're hopeful that if he goes to Florida, he will also see fit to come to Georgia."

Elliot also visited Crawford County west of Macon, where residents are starting to clean up after a hurricane-spawned tornado touched down.

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Elliot spoke to resident Sally McRorie, who lost trees in her yard but whose home was otherwise unscathed.

"We've had a lot of damage, but we still have a lot to be thankful for," McRorie said. "We don't know why God did this, but he does. And you don't question it."

Luckily, it doesn't appear anyone was hurt in Crawford County.

Elliot also spoke with electricity crews who came from as far away as Kentucky to help restore power in the area. GEMA was helping to coordinate crews from out of state to get them to the areas where they were needed most.

DOWNLOAD: Free Severe Weather Team 2 App]

Sam McCrary, who works for the local electric company, was helping guide crews from Pike Electric in Kentucky as they tried to restore power.

"We're just in the process of repairing it, trying to get it back on," McCrary said. "It's a time-consuming process but we're working on it."

It didn't take crews long to get brand-new power poles up and start the process of restringing the lines.

Along with homes that were damaged in the storm, businesses and local farms were also assessing the fallout.

There were 53 poultry houses that were destroyed by the storm, Deal said.

Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black said he feared the state’s peanut, pecan and cotton harvests were devastated by the storm.

"Our worst dreams realized," Black said.“There’s going to be a lot of work to do.”

[PHOTOS: Hurricane Michael makes landfall, leaves devastating damage behind]

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